Last Updated on February 16, 2023 by Gardens Home Management Services
The National Weather Forecast projects Florida temperatures to reach the low 30’s. It is important to heed the warning when your local forecaster announces ‘a chance of frost’, and take precautions to protect your flowers. Often times it is possible to extend your growing season by several weeks if you are able to keep your plants alive through a single early frost!
It is important to cover your flowers before the sun goes down. By the time it gets dark much of the stored heat in the garden has already been lost. If you have time, build a simple frame around the plant, or row of plants. (Even a single stake can be used in many cases.) Then drape a cover of newspaper, cardboard, plastic tarps, bed sheeting or any other lightweight material over the frame to create a tent.
If you don’t have time to create a frame, lay the protective cover directly onto the plant. This will help to slow the loss of heat rising from the foliage and the ground. Remove the covers in the morning, once the frost has thawed, to let the light and fresh air back in, and to prevent overheating by the sun. For smaller individual plants you can use glass jars, milk jugs with the bottom removed, paper cups upside down flower pots as heat traps.
Please Contact Gardens Home Management Services and we will act immediately to get your flowers protected. Cost will be based on time and materials. Call 561-625-5700 or email us at Gardens@homecarepro.com.