For tropic gardeners, in the South Florida area, the weather can change back and forth and damaging effects can take place in just a few days. In winter, the temperature occasionally drops below 40 degrees, and if it is windy, this relatively mild inclimacy can damage the foliage of vulnerable plants. If the temperature is expected to be near 37 degrees F., most tropicals, which cannot be brought inside, should be covered, and it may be helpul to spray foliage with water, before turning in for the night! Leaving delicate plants out in the open, that can be brought inside (below 37 degrees), will probably not have a good result! If plants must be left outside, do not use plastic as a covering--the morning Sun will boil delicate foliage!

   Special care will be needed, if the temperture takes a dip to 33 degrees, and it has been as low as 26-30 degrees in the eastern part of Broward County, and lower still, in the western part, twice in the last 40 years. Aralias, cycads, and most fresh plantings can be damaged at just above 40 degrees, and should be sprayed with a garden hose, using a misting nozzle to get them through the night. This should be done in the hours before bedtime and in the early morning, before 5:30 or 6 a.m. (Phalaenopses, though easy to grow, do not like temperatures below 60 degrees!)  "Cold protection"

   In the spring, lots of water and fertilizer get the growing started again, but the greatest risk seems to be in January, because the weather will turn mild and most of us (in South Florida) will be lulled into thinking it is the nicest time of year, and not check on valuable plants as often as needed. It seems that every winter this warning needs to be reissued--the weather is so satisfying to humans, we just don't keep up with what is going on in the garden. What may seem like only one day of neglect, actually turns out to be three or four, and will cause damage to expensive and treasured tropical plants.
 
 
 
 

Gardening report for South Florida--ASAGROW--January 2002--vol #1:

  In January and February most exotic and tropical plants are at special
risk because of periodic rises and falls in temperature, interlaced with
periodic dry periods. The threat of loss or damage to foliage is especially
high during the last two weeks of January. January brings with it a
transitional period, which will, in many cases, kill off succulent, newly
planted, and in some cases, recently fertilized tropical plants.

   Even older and more rugged plants are at risk for foliage loss and
damage. It was 40 degrees in early January, and it will be cool again
before the winter is over... and then dry and then warm again. Growing
plants need more moisture than might be expected to deal with and get
through this stressfull period. The risk of damage to foliage continues
until the beginning of the growing season in March, and by then, those
who have not been paying attention will have lost the "at risk plants,"
and have to start over.

   For orchids, alocasias and most other tropicals, daily watering,
applying a fine mist and using drain dishes on most young and succulent
foliage is advised. Without special attention, immature plants of the types
mentioned may not make it through. During this period, drain dishes
should show signs of water in them almost every day, but should not be
filled more than 2 or 3 times a week. However, for plants as vulnerable as
New Guinea Impatience get a chair and sit by them with the hose in your
hand, and maybe most will make it through--water such succulent or hybrid
varieties heavily almost every day! (Generally speaking, any noteworthy
precipitation will be very good in this period, and it will allow a few days
off for the caretaker.)

   Fresh plantings of palms and seemingly heartier plants which might
otherwise seem not to be in danger, require daily watering during January.
One good technique is to allow a trickling hose to run at the base of the
plant for 30 minutes each late afternoon. This approach will sustain most
plants and palms until the rain returns. Some sprinkler systems and some
sprinkling techniques do not get enough water on the ground to soak in
and get the roots sufficiently wet.
 
 

An addendum 1-21-02:
How to Spend Your Time and Your Money at an Orchid Show

   I have been looking for a few orchid plants for my slat house, and I
decided to go to the 45th Annual Fort Lauderdale Orchid Show. It was
pretty much overwhelming. I had to go back several times before I was
organized enough to pick out the right plants for my situation. I did not
know what to expect or how I was going to get it done, but I got down to
business after about 2 hours on the first night.

   There were so many flowers I did not know where to start. I had a
mission and I had to put on the blinders to get anything done. The
problem with flower shows is "overlap and saturation." That is each
exhibitor tries to start and end the design of their display to have a
maximum effect. What prevents the whole thing from being 15 exhibits
with the same look is that each grower has learned that competition in
this business is so great you have to find a niche and specialize, or
they will run each other out of business with price cutting. My dad told
me that many years ago.

   It was my first orchid show in 35 years, and I had to apply tunnel
vision to stay on track. When I walked in the door I had no idea what
to expect or what I would have to do to achieve my goal. You can travel
around to the local growers and try to shop for specific plants and probably
get better prices when not at a big show where the prices may be pumped
up. (It was like a bazaar--I did not expect it to be so commercial!) However,
in the environment of the show you can save all the gas money and time,
spent driving all over the countryside, by just walking from exhibit to exhibit,
and booth to booth, comparing plants and different growers for quality and
cost, asking questions all the way.

   My method worked! Everything I bought makes a very good foundation
for my collection. All the while, I was thinking cost, quality and variety, with
an emphasis on the style and selection of things that were available in the
1950s and 1960s. There was so much to see, and 90 percent of it did not
really interest me, but I wanted to see everything and still not let it distract me.
I returned to the show 4 or 5 times and bought something with each visit--I
lost count the second or third day.

Conclusion:
   I thought, possibly, a sharing of information might help others who are
overwhelmed by too many choices. Most everyone at the show bought
something (what recession?), and it seems that trying to pick one or two
plants to start out with with would be very difficult. Most of what the novices
bought was odd and/or inexpensive. (There are no bargains, just good stuff
and not so good, and poor.) If you don't know much about it, but some plant
you want or bought is colorful and you are happy, that is fine, but maybe a
few pointers would be of assistance in future purchases.

   If you want something that will bloom more than once a year, and for as
long a time as possible, bright colors are pretty, but after a short while on the
widow sill, larger, more detailed and moderately colored flowers seem to
develop an elegance that does not wear off or get old. Then, you get "the
bug" and want to by more. It becomes like a disease. So here are a few tips:
If you have space outside, don't just buy orchids, start with a garden-like
setting, with a table and chairs and a walkway, maybe a pergola. Then, a
few exotic plants, pony tail, Rhapis, Kentia, Alocasia, chamodoria (sp),
philodendron, zamia, maiden hair fern and staghorn fern.

   Starting out with four or five orchid plants should be balanced to include
4 or 5 different basic colors, but don't start with maxicolored flowers--keep it
simple. Most orchids are not all one color, but basic white or lavender or red
or yellow, with a colored lip or with a hint of something pastel around the
edges is very appealing to the psyche. Phalaenopsis and Ascosendas bloom
prolifically and some cattleyas, while not having as frequent or as long a
blooming cycle, are large and elegant. Vandas and many cattleyas only
bloom once a year--ask questions and buy something that is in bloom at
the time or that you have seen in bloom in the past.

   Orchids can be hung in trees or from semi-shaded walls or trellises or wood-
framed or lathe topped shade houses. They don't like to be on the ground, and
very few, percentage-wise, will tolerate full sun. They like to be "misted" regularly,
but excessive watering will rot them very quickly. Most vandas and dendrobiums
will do well in almost full sun, but no matter what you do, most will only bloom
for about two weeks out of the year, and they need to be watered regularly to
prevent burning of the foliage, or drying out and atrophy, of the bulbs, in the
case of dendrobiums.
 

Be you own South Florida weatherman (2-28-02)

In South Florida, when cold weather threatens, there are a few tips, having a knowledge of which, should
put the tropic gardener more in control and a bit more at ease. If the temperature is falling and there is the
threat of a freeze or of windchill in the in the range below 40 degrees there are a few things to take into
consideration. As an overview, whatever ability the gardener has to protect his or her plants, she or he still
needs to have a general idea of what is going to happen, if he or she is to get any sleep.

1) When the temperature declines, it will probably not become a threat if the thermometer reading is above 50 degrees at midnight--51 or above is better. (It is important to have a fairly accurate idea of what the temperature is at your location, and the local TV weather report will only be an approximation. You will need to take your own measurements, and it is hard to find an accurate thermometer! Having two or three gages to average together and compare to what is reported on television will get close enough to act appropriately, and not take any avoidable losses.) Fifty one degrees is a safe number (at midnight) because, time is the guiding factor in the decision making process. For Southeast Florida, at 2 a.m., the rate at which temperature declines lets up. For example, the 2 a.m. temperature might be 47, but it may only fall to about 44 or 45 at 4 a.m. After that, the decline picks up speed again, and might be 41 or 42 at 6 a.m.

   When there is a more severe cold spell, below 38 degrees, the "6 a.m. decline" can become a plunge. It can drop 4 degrees between 5:30 and 6:30 to 31 or 32 degrees. Then it is almost too late to act. It can be stone cold when the sun begins to rise and most plants will not have retained enough moisture to stave off the effects of the transition back to a reasonable temperature, escorted by the warming rays of the Sun. At that point, spraying everything with water will limit the damage, and a better system of predicting the threat at your location will allow time to think through and prepare for the appropriate course of action.

   In South Florida, the temperature has ventured below 30 degrees in the last 40 years only twice, in 1968 and 1976. In these two winters, it reached 26 degrees, even near the warm waters of the Gulf Stream and the Atlantic--it was deadly all over the state. A lot of water was pumped those two morning, and we saved almost everything at the nursery, but there were a few losses. We pumped until there were 5-inch icicles hanging from most limbs and branches, moderately light shrubbery included. (See "the freeze of 1976" (pix), earlier on the home page.)

2) Predicting the low for the night to come depends on what it was last night, and on what the outside
temperature is at 5 or 6 p.m. in the evening. If it is below 60 degrees, and the weatherman predicts a freeze
or severe windchill in some local areas you need to have a since of what the current conditions at your
location tell you about what will happen after 4 a.m. in the morning. So, after this is done a few times you
can get pretty good at it, and will amaze others by pointing out that if it is 50 degrees at a certain time,
there is not much of a threat; however, succulents and fast growing orchids, such as Phalaenopsis should
be taken inside by 6 p.m, if the temperature is to be in the 50 degree range in the early a.m.

   At 11 p.m. you will know exactly what will happen to within one degree, and if it is above 50 you are
probably ok, but if it is say 46, at that time, there is a problem awaiting the morning's first light, just a few
hours ahead. The temperature at midnight and at 2 p.m. are what tells the tail, at least it works that way in
South Florida. It has something to do with the Gulfstream and the warm southerly currents. If you are
farther up the coast, where the Gulfstream is farther out to sea and less of a shield, the early morning
temperature can vary more than is expected or predictable by these methods!

     However in Dade, Broward or Palm Beach County, or in the Florida Keys, you can sit by the TV and watch an outside thermometer, through the window, and see the temperature track downward, while the TV weather guy tries to terrorize you, and suddenly at  2:20 or 2:30, you notice there has not been much change since the 2 a.m. or 1:45 readings. Then, between 2 and 4 a.m., it just barely changes, maybe only one or one and a half degrees. The "Gulfstream support system" collapses between 4:30 and 5 a.m., the time "REM" sleep activity begins. It has to do with the position-angle of the Sun. Of course, all this is independent of the causes and explanations of what brought on the cold spell to begin with. Changes in Barometric pressure drives cold fronts, but we don't really care why it came, we just want to know how cold it will be between 4 and 6 a.m.
 

Yours for better growing,
Gary Bloom
 

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