Lakewood Ranch residents don't chill when it comes to plants

Carolyn Lowry-Nation was a bit uncomfortable as members of her Gardeners Out East club walked through her Esplanade front yard and into her home for a meeting on Jan. 4.

Lowry-Nation, a Master Gardener, hadn't been too concerned about a cold snap that passed through the area and carried with it temperatures that dipped into the high 30s at night.

However, greeting visitors in her front yard were impatiens that had been damaged by the frost.

To her surprise, Lowry-Nation said that none of her club's members attending the meeting had tried to protect any of their plants during the frosty weather. They all laughed about their oversight.

"It was like the cobbler whose shoes are full of holes in the soles," said Lowry-Nation, who formed Gardeners Out East in 2014.

Lori Walker, the president of the Lakewood Ranch Garden Club and a Master Gardener, understands the feeling. She pointed to a basil plants on her lanai where the leaves were frostbitten. "I forgot about it," she said with a laugh.

She walked by many other plants in her yard that were not affected. "We were lucky," she said.

Both Lowry-Nation and Walker said they planned to take more precautions until the cold snap was over. They planned to cover plants that would be susceptible to the cold with sheets.

Walker also took a trip to the Community Garden in her Greenbrook community at the Adventure Park. About a third of the plants had suffered some sort of damage from the frostbite and although some of the plants had been covered, Walker said it had come too late.

Apparently, one of the most important factors in protecting plants from the cold is acknowledging it needs to be done. Florida's climate makes it rare for the need to protect plants from the cold, but it, indeed, does happen.

Both Lowry-Nation and Walker have many plants on their lanais, and even though those are just separated from the open air by screens, it often stays 10 degrees warmer or even more. However, both said it is important to move plants susceptible to cold, such as orchids, closer to walls for protection during cold weather. Both had moved their orchids to safer ground.

"The outside if a whole different story," Lowry-Nation said. "Plants like sunshine and water, and the cold temperatures can be rough on them."

Protecting the plants really isn't that difficult. It usually means just covering the plants with a light sheet or a pillowcase. They both said to avoid covering plants with heavy sheets or plastic. The plastic can be especially hard on plants, which need to breathe.

Walker said it is important to remember that plants need sunlight, so don't keep the covering on 24/7 for days at a time.

Perhaps most important, though, is just getting the sheets out when the temperature drops toward freezing.

"I would tell people, 'Don't take chances,'" Lowry-Nation said with a laugh.