Saturday, January 31, 2026 in Oviedo, Florida: We were all warned on the weather channels and news of the freeze alert. The weather has never been this freezing cold in Florida since I moved here in 2015. I underestimated the harsh cold wind that made it worse. Temperatures during the day time was in the 60 degrees Fahrenheit. It gradually dropped down to 35F by the late afternoon and then dipped down to 24F at night.
Prepping and Saving My Plants and Fruit Trees
I brought my seedling station inside the house along with some potted plants I was able to lift and carry. My friend and I harvested as many vegetables from the garden.
Sunday, February 1 at 5:30AM: I went outside to check the temperature which had dipped down to 24 degrees Fahrenheit. The ground was frozen though dry to the touch. The remaining lettuces. All my seedlings I put out last week are doomed. Lesson learned: Before transplanting my seedlings, I need to check the weather forecast first. Do not transplant seedlings into the ground if there’s a freeze coming up. Fortunately, I have two trays of backup seedlings I can put down once this cold front is gone.
As for my fruit trees, I wish I had thought about digging up the you mango trees before the freeze came to pot it up and bring them into the house. After having my tropical fruit trees suffer 6 hours of freezing wind, my husband woke up early morning and offered to help me dig up the fruit trees to bring them inside the house. Oh I pray that it is not too late to rescue my mango trees.
My Fruit Tree Inventory
The following is a list of my current fruit trees and its value if I have to replace the tree. I will update what survived or died from this brutal winter freeze. An asterisk indicates which tree I will replace if they die.
- Atemoya: Lisa $75
- Atemoya: Priestley $150
- Atemoya: PPC $150
- Atemoya: AP2 $200
- *Atemoya: Geffner (saved) $75
- *Fig: LSU Golden (saved) $30
- *June Plum $150
- *Barbados Cherry $50
- *Miracle Berry trees (saved 3/4): $75
- Lychee: Emperor $100
- *Citrus: Kaffir Lime $50
- Citrus: Shiranui Mandarin $150
- Citrus: Meiwa Kumquat $50
- *Citrus: Calomondin (1/3 saved) $25
- *Papaya: Hawaiian Strawberry (1/3 saved) $25
- *Banana: Mona Lisa $25
- Banana: Ice Cream $25
- Jamaican Yellow Cherry $25
- *Red Jaboticaba $150
- *Green Pakistani Mulberry $75
- Leaph’s Seedless Guava $50
- *Mahachanok Mango $150
- *Orange Sherbet Mango $150
- *Siatong Mango $150
- Venus Mango $75
- *Cherry of the Rio Grande $75
The Plants that Survived and Died After Three Freezing Nights
List of plants from my garden and others in Central Florida that survived outdoor after three freezing nights: and
- Bunching scallions
- Chinese chives
- Rosemary
- Banana Shrub
- Azalea
- Daikon
- Radish
- Kohlrabi
- Curly Kale
- Mizuna
- Lettuces- romaine type
- Cauliflower (I think)
- Broccoli (I think)
- Calomondin
- Mahachanok mango tree ?
- Giant Red Mustards – the leaves died but the new leaves popping out already are very colorful! It’s a vigorous grower.
- Meiwa Kumquat
- Calomondin
More to be determined in two weeks - Cherry of the Rio Grande
- Brogdon Avocado (cold-hardy)
RIP:
sunflowers
nasturtiums
pepper
basil
Jamaican Cherry
Strawberry Hawaiian Papaya
Lettuce – loose leaf type
Poinsettias
Bougainvilleas
Coleus
Dwarf Princess Tibouchinas
Cuban Oregano
Emperor Lychee (I think)
Sweet Potato
Leaph’s Seedless Guava
More to be determined
Other fellow food foresters and nurseries:
- Below, my friend Nick Finan of Nick’s Edibles in St. Cloud put on his sprinkler all night long. For the fruit trees with a frost cover, the ice was built up around the cover but the temperature inside was 10 degrees warmer. For trees with the frost cover blown away, the sprinkler system fire the trees in ice. So I am not sure having the sprinkler system on during a freezing night is such a good idea or not.
2. Below, Zach Bowman in Oviedo, Florida build an enclosed pyramid with a heating source for each of his mango tree. He said the strong wind did not blow the frost away. With the heat source inside each pyramid, he was able to maintain temperatures in the low 40 degrees Fahrenheit while the outside temperature is 24 degrees Fahrenheit.
