Cindee
I am sorry for your losses, I don't think we were prepared for a long freeze.
My bananas look worse than yours, trunks are still green so I hope they come back. All the annual flowers are gone and we will see about the fruit trees, even they were covered they look damaged.
The only hardy survivors were the winter veggies, they look alive and healthy.
From your list, I have Goose Creek that I can send you some if interested.
Willy

cindee
I will mail you seeds for Marianna's Peace, Big Zac and anything else you want. If you get this way I have extra seedlings of:Galina heirloom, Polish Ellis, Omars Lebanese and Shuntukski Velikan and some others.

My plants were not harmed (uncovered), the seedlings came indoors with the orchids. So sorry to hear of your loss. You really had it going on but you will again.

Denise

cindee, first don't give up on the plants you think you lost.
Cut them back to about a foot tall, and see if they won't re-sprout. Usually they do, sometimes from below the soil level, and that will be a whole lot faster than starting seed or even planting trans-plants.

Corrie

I just have one question. I'm sorry you lost everything because you have some beautiful plants. How do you keep your plants from getting eaten by animals? Everything I plant gets eaten before it can fruit.

What did you cover them with? I used sheets blakets towels and quilts and cardboard boxes,oh and DH used our PLYWOOD (for hurricanes) against the plants closest to the house.Things seem to be ok some a bit mushy but not like yours and Im further north.
Did the west coast get it worse then us ? I know you guys usually have much more extreme weather,more lightening more heat more cold etc.I know it must be disheartening to go to all that work and have mom nature send you a whammy.
tanya

Ugh mine too - the leaves look pretty bad anyways and they were the only things we really cared about saving - everything else was on their way out. Well except for one eggplant baby that really looked like it was finally taking off. After 30 seeds only one decided it wanted to be something someday. And now it is gone :o( We covered what we cared about but I guess it wasn't enough. Sad day...will be ripping alot out this weekend and starting fresh. But I will try Corie's tip...

Cindee and Willy, I'm sorry for your losses, I had no damage and brought my seedlings in with the orchids. If either of you, or anyone else, want seeds from my Exchange list drop me a line. I have some Goose Creek and Earl's Faux seedlings but I ran out of the Burpee peat cubes and tried a different peat cube that isn't performing well. Still, I'll pot up this weekend and can bring them to Willy's BBQ if anyone has some interest. Otherwise, I'll be pulling my existing Beefmasters, Brandy Boys, Big Beefs and Jetsetters next weekend so I can top and pot them if that will help anyone out...just let me know.

Tom

oh sorry Cindee, I don't have any tomato seeds, but I want to say, my yard looks bad, too. everything is black. I lost all my firespikes, porterweeds, my basil collection, and of course the Musa Siam Red looks pathetic. I did keep one of that one in a pot in the garage, but for sure this one is not meant for zone 9b.

Cindee,

I don't have any tomatoe seeds but if there is anything else that was damaged let me know and if I have any, I will send them to you - or maybe we will actually meet at Ricky's!

Tom, thank you for your kind offer.
I know what are you talking about the peat cubes. I bought some in HD and they don't even get completely moist. I got new ones at Lowes, they are from Ferris Morse and they are much better. They will be good to star some of the flowers that I lost.
This freeze taught me a lesson, unless I have a greenhouse there will be no buying expensive plants for me.
I will have to figure it out about covering the fruit trees, I bought the "plankets" or something like that from HD and didn't work that well. Frost cloth worked better on my young citrus.
Hopefully, by the time we have the BBQ everything is green again. (All the lawns in my area are brown now)

Willy

Ugh! I am so sorry for your plant losses. :(
I think I fared the best due to being downtown St. Pete by the water. I think we only got as low as 38 degrees. This was a long freeze...longer than they predicted.

My coleous looks a little worse for the wear, but nothing as bad as last year. Last year, I had ice in the bird bath!

I don't have as many 'fancy' tomoto varieties - just plain ol' burpee better boy hybrids. But, I have far more than I can use (1 person - 4 huge plants!). If anyone wants to try to root a cutting, I'll be glad to provide some to you.

Porter-weed bounces back with a vengence btw. The freeze got mine last year. I hard cut it and it grew even larger.

Hi Cindee,

Wow, that's lousy that you lost so many of your tomato plants. I'm truly sorry to hear that. I'm over here on the east coast in Fort Lauderdale and I think I heard them say our lowest temp was 38. Inland it was about 31 and the farmers did lose a small amount of their crops.

My plants do look fine except for what looks like a small amount of leaf burn on a couple of leaves.

I could save some seed from the tomatoes we've been enjoying and mail them to you. The Agro and Park's Whopper have been very prolific. Would you like me to dry some and mail them to you?

Take care,

Sheri

Sorry Cindee. I covered a bunch. Now I'm glad I did. I know we didn't get the cold that some of the state got, but I have no damage. But as Ricky says, I may see damage in the days to come. It sometimes takes a while. It's so hard to nurture plants and then lose them. I wish I had some seeds for you. You were so generous to me.
Nancy

Sorry about your loss. They say that misery loves company, so I guess I am joining you. I was not able to get home the night of the hard freeze and I lost all three of my tomatoes, better boy, sweet 100, and husky cherry along with my cucumber and zuccini. Most of the sweet 100 and husky cherry fell off to the ground, still green. My wife says that tomatoes can be ripened in a paper bag, can I do that with some of the larger cherry types and still eat them? As far as the plants go, can I save them if the leaves closest to the ground still look ok? Or is it best to just give up, remove them and start over? Thanks.
Josh

You guys, thanks for your sympathies! It really made me sad, but I WILL carry on!! Willy and Denise, Thanks for your seed offers I will take Goose Creek(willy) and MP and Big Z seeds(denise) Tomncath-you been on my mind all day today as I went through plants and seedlings assessing damage...is Red Lightening and or Indian Stripes reg leaf or potato? I have seedlings, one of each leaf! And if you have any seeds from your Sunmaster??? My plant had 3 beautiful fruits growing...FROZEN!! please?
Josh, I hear ya bud! I picked all fruit that didn't look like it frosted and have them ripening on my kitchen windowsill and counter. I hope #1 There may be some taste quality left and #2 To get some seeds From a couple that were putting out some pretty spectacular fruit. I have NEVER had a HCR so sweet and such large fruit. The plants was amazing and all lost(sigh).
Someone asked what I covered with...Frost cloth from Den's work(good quality) bed sheets too. I think our downfall here was the wind. We had very brisk, cold, drying wind before the freeze. I tried to cover my tomatoes BEFORE night fell and still frost came and took lives! Live and learn, guys. I WILL come back with TREMENDOUS tomatoes again!!

Wow, all I've read here is heartbreaking.

I'm new to gardening and when I read that covers were needed for plants to help prevent freezing, I looked around the house and grabbed the big garbage bags to use over the tomato plants' support frames and clear plastic ground covers ($1 ones from Dollar Tree) over banana trees, on beds with pineapples, newly planted strawberries and some vegetables.

So far they look OK, still green. Is it luck & they are still alive? Or will they turn brown shortly? I only removed the covers this afternoon.

Cindeea, I do not know the botanical name but I do have seeds of cherry tomatoes if you would like some.

Hi Cindee,

Red Lightening and Indian Strip are both regular leaf. Is it possible I sent you some Brandy Boy? That's a potaot leaf plant. I still have ten Sunmaster seeds left, they're yours. Look at my exchange pageand tell me what else you want me to send. Below was our sunset tonight, hard to believe such beauty in the midst of such destruction.

Tom

Pretty sunset tomncath.
It's not all bad, is it?

It was a long deep freeze for central Florida.

Sorry for all the veggie losses.

At least we're not in the midst of blizzards and below zero temps though!

We're in for a warming trend for a while now.

Smile...Be Happy.

Still nicer here than anywhere else in this country!

Cindee, sorry to hear about your freeze damage. How low did your temps go? With the amount of covering, I am really surprised at your loss. We had below freezing temps for 9 hours the worst day at Okeechobee and mine were a little better since I live half way to the east coast.

My only damage were green beans that were near the end and I did not cover. My tomatoes came through good except where my sheets touched a leave. I wrongly suggested it did not matter if sheets touched leaves on this forum based on my experience with mango covering.

bernie

With the tomato plants pictured above, does anyone know if they could be saved by trimming them back down? I am thinking that if they have some decent leaves toward the bottom of the plants and the roots weren't damaged, that they might have a chance. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Josh

And now for some good news. The survivors were basking in the sun today and some are carring new fruits. Among them: Earl's Faux, Tumbling Tom, Red Robin, Galina's, Pink Ping Pong, Talladega, Green Zebra, A NOID Cherry(almost looks like Sweet baby Girl Clusters) or could be HCR, Florida 91 and a lot of new seedlings that made it under the potting bench wrapped in black cloth.
{{gwi:782048}}From Tomato Heartbreak

{{gwi:782049}}From Tomato Heartbreak

{{gwi:782051}}From Tomato Heartbreak

{{gwi:782053}}From Tomato Heartbreak

Hopefully all this fruit is not tainted and will ripen and be edible!
{{gwi:782055}}From Tomato Heartbreak

Onward!!

I lost all of mine too even though I covered them with old comforters.

I have over 100 seedlings coming along so I will replant but I'm saddened by the loss of my last two Black Russians. I had bagged the fruit for seed production.

I guess I need to bite the bullet and order more.

Hiya Chick! Nice to meet ya! What a combination, eh, Orchids and Tomatoes! Still I love them both myself! It was sickening to see my beloved nurtured from seed, fruit bearing plants get Knocked Off in just a stroke! Sorry for your Black Russians. I am still happy I catalogued, made note and took photos of my progress. It gives me the chutzpa to not give up!

Willy ~ You said you got some fruit tree damage. How are they doing? I got lots of damage in my yard, but not the trees I protected with the plastic and hurricaine lamps. My mango blooms are in excellent shape. It would be nice to get fruit this year for the first time. I know I would have lost my keylime if I didn't make the mini-greenhouse for it. Hope your yard is all greened up for you party too!

Christine

Cindee
I send you mail today. I am glad your spirits are up!

Christine
You were probably one of the few prepared for the freeze.
What variety of mango do you have? Maybe it is variety that can take more cold. Mine is Carrie.
Also how long has been on the ground? That can be an issue too. Mine is only one year old.
All my young citrus, avocado look good considering the winds and cold that we had.
Most of the yard is brown just like other houses in the neighborhood. The St. Augustine took a beating. I had planted rye seed in empty spots and that is nice and green.

I hope that you can make it to the BBQ Christine, it will be very nice to have you and the other gardeners in our house.
And everybody will have to forgive me for my "brown yard", that was not in the plan. LOL.
On the other hand vegetables look good.

Willy

I did a lot of trimming and ruminating today. As I was trimming deadened leaves and picking up dropped tomatoes my neighbor came across the swale between our homes and was asking why I bothered so much. He's seen me go through barely walking, 2 hip surgeries and Dennis's issues. He asked what got me out every day to plant, water, trim, deal with life and personal issues then throw it all on the trash heap when nature took a turn. It really made me think, no, not think I spontaneously said to him in a corney kinda way "Cause it's what I do. I love to grow and if it dies I grow it again..." wow, now I really make sense. It's what we DO people. We love it, sometimes we hate it, but mostly WE REALLY LOVE IT! Gardening, no matter what form, large or small, is in our blood. That's why we come here. To brag or cry, to share excitement and promise. It's what we do!!
(I now hear Sachmo breaking out in.." I see trees of green, and skys of blue..." it IS a wonderful world, my friends.

Bravo!!! Felicimo!!!

Cindeea,

So sorry to hear about your toms...I have some seeds but they are not of your list. I noticed you have pear toms...I have seedlings started from last year's crop of seeds...also have black krim and just got my order today that has money makers if you are interested. My seeds are few as I am starting from stratch myself, but I will share what I have!

Kim

*scratch*

Willy - I am sure that your supposed " brown garden " cannot hold a candle to mine .
Down to 18 degrees here for hours and many more long hours - possibly even lower temps. This is the same type of freeze conditions that finished off all our commercial citrus acreage in 1989 .
We - the DeLand GW congregation - are coming to meet YOU and other GWebbers and the green plants will follow later .
Please - do not worry !
We are all feeling the pain of this recent freeze .
And --- it's not the last one !

Cindeea ~ Wow, I really liked your little speech. How true you are. We do it because that's what we do.

Willy ~ I do plan on coming to your BBQ along with my husband. And, one of those jars of calamondin marmalade has your name on it. I'm looking forward to meeting you and the others.

My mango is a Carrie. It was a three foot "stick" last winter. It has grown quite a bit this year. I believe in pushing the growth on young fruit trees because larger trees are more cold hardy, but with a mango I don't expect that it will make much of a difference since it is so tropical. So, to answer your question, the mango will be 2 years in the ground next early summer. It was very tiny when I bought it. Willy, we are going to be in for a treat when our trees fruit because Carrie is a great tasting mango.

Christine

Down to 18 degrees here for hours and many more long hours - possibly even lower temps. This is the same type of freeze conditions that finished off all our commercial citrus acreage in 1989.

I remember those days, I'm really sorry for your loss...makes me fell guilty about my little microclimate.

gatormomx2
I am very sorry to hear about your loss. We can't control Mother Nature, we just have to do the best we can under the circumstances.
And the good news are that you are coming to the BBQ with the DeLand congregation. That is very nice, can't wait to meet you and the other gardeners.

Christine
I am so glad that you and your husband are coming too. Thank you in advance for the marmalade. I will cherish it.

You did a better job than me on protecting your mango. I hope mine survives, only time will tell.

Willy

Kim~Thanks so much sweetie for the offer, but I will have plenty seeds thanks to Tom, Willy and Denise. And if I still have your address, I may share some of the extra seeds I have with you!

Christine...yep, "It's what we do.."! lol gotta love it.

Well, for my tomatoes, zucchini, and peppers pictured above I wasn't able to really get clear advice on trimming (some say don't trim at all, some say prune off the dead stuff, some say trim it down to the ground) so I used my best judgment. I basically trimmed off the dead parts and cut back more in some places - it was a fairly hard pruning. They look much like sticks right now except the leaves near the soil. New tender small leaves are emerging from along the stems, so I think it will all be OK as long as another freeze doesn't come through any time soon. If it does, I will work very hard to protect my garden next time. Thanks.
Josh

PS: R.I.P. Cucumbers, I believe they are completely destroyed.