Ruskin Florida. Winter has hit us.
So we've been sick in our house for a little over a week now. I haven't felt like messing with my poor plants. I go out today to look at them and it's not good. I have picked all of the sad leaves off. What should I do with them? I was thinking about making a tea but I was afraid the heat would kill the alkaloids. Anybody have any thoughts?
@paulinruskin I know plenty of people who make tea by boiling dried crushed leaf for 30 minutes or more. In Indonesia and Thailand they put fresh leaves in pots of simmering water and leave them for hours before drinking. Assuming the leaves have alkaloids I think your tea will be fine.
thank you will try this is the morning.
@paulinruskin tea sounds fine 👍
32ﾟ this morning
Frosty!
We stayed above freezing, and I thought I had mine in a warm spot, but the Kali clones do not like the cold. Check out the difference between the (alleged) Rifat’s and the Kali’s.
I just brought the hardest hits ones inside and moved the rest closer to the house. I really need a better hobby.
@pete2000 you'll be fine! they seem to be ok to 28°f , but lose leaves. ....
they always seem to come back tho...
It's going to get into the twenties here in central Florida Saturday night. mine have all taken a pretty good hit already and I found a potential solution to keep my trees warm. I did an experiment today with A-line of charcoal and I got it to burn for 6 hours On 2.5' of charcoal About 4" wide. So depending on wind I think this could be a viable tool. This is for my trees that are beyond covering And I have a few of them
Weird how the freeze will affect part of the plant and not another
@roadkill Hope you feel better soon!
@roadkill❄❄ clever idea❄❄.
❄❄Always need ideas to improve the survival rate in North Florida. 🌡°27F...It's going into the upper 20s here this weekend ❄❄ ( this wont end well.)
my windshield ice. lol and tomorrow night will be worse? Time to cover them well, especially their lower stumps. Save the bark and lower trunk☃️
This wind cuts right through my coat. Looking at 34 here tonight.
Forecast is still the upper twenties for me
Dark sky now shows a low of 35 for me. A bit warmer than it had been.
Little ones should be fine in here.
@roadkill omg look at that frost. It looks like they have a hard border around each leaf. That's absolutely I sane.
@roadkill hope everything recovers quickly once this is over 🙏🙏🍃🙏🙏
wow keep the pics coming. Absolutely insane
@peteypyro OUCH!!!! Wrap some blankets and some tarps around the base. Start a fire near them. I hope they will be ok. Only have to go thru 6 hours of chill.
roof was reading 24f. Bowls of water already below freezing. In almost 9 years i’ve never seen a frost. Unbelievable
roof is now reading 20f. road is 28, leaf is almost at freezing but yet to frost over. although it seems that will happen real quick. I can only imagine what its like up north of here
been checking temps since 3am. Started nose diving hard but temps are creeping back up a few degrees. Just enough to halt frost hopefully. sunrise will be in about an hour. It was a good 8 to 10f below reports, the roof temps were extraordinarily low.
I have been in ground for eight or nine years and have never not been home and safely say wtf
on a side note i found a snake crawling up the door, and alligators frozen in place
@guywithtrees They're iced up. Sprinklers left on to save them... chunks of ice are falling off of the branches, hopefully indicating that the water from sprinklers froze first, covering the unfrozen branches and buds. I hope 
Frozen only on the outside, not inside that ice cocoon. I hope. 
Success.... Tree trunks maintain the temperature of 50's and 60's and the temperature dip down to 28ﾟ in my area
@roadkill That looks good. So far. I wonder of the roots get hot from the coals? Just curious, as a Pyro. Lol
The pumelos are iced up outside, but unfrozen inside. Hopefully sweeter now.❄❄ Sprinklers helped.
they are dormant now.