Get ready everyone! The next 6 weeks will be the cold weather with the lowest temperatures we will probably see this year! We have already begun to see evidence of cold stress in some lawns and on a few plants.
Crabgrass and Bermuda grass have been affected the most. These 2 types of grass do not tolerate the cold temperatures at all. Not much of our St. Augustine grass has been impacted. Normally we see some impact as the temperatures persist but not as of yet.
Our customers in Venice, North Port, Lake Suzy and Port Charlotte have had 2 cold mornings so far, and a third one is close. These are the areas that we have been noticing the worst cold stress. I spoke with a golf course superintendent yesterday and, like many people, they run the sprinklers during frost warnings. They still received frost damage on some of their golf holes but feel it would have been worse without the irrigation.
A good rule of thumb is to cover any ”blooming” plants. These are the least cold hearty in most landscapes. If any of your plants show signs of cold damage, don’t prune out the damage yet. Wait another month. This might actually help insulate the plant a little more over the next few weeks as more cold weather comes through.
We will keep you updated when we notice more changes.
