Winter Woes

Oh, the ravages of wintry weather!  Our recent cold spell spelled trouble for the citrus trees.  At first, I did not think things were so bad.  Sure the leaves were a bit "burned" but overall the trees still appeared to be fine.  After meandering through the orchard today, I am not so sure.  The lemons, limes and naval orange seem to have been the worst hit.  These trees are more in the open and do not have the coverage that larger trees would provide.  Plus, these trees are quite young which might make a difference.  Their ability to tolerate the cold might not be as strong as some of the older trees.  Michael is once again telling me to have patience.  He claims that plants are more durable that we think.  I do hope he is right.  Once before these very same trees froze nearly to the ground and if it had not been for his urging, I would have cut them all.

The cold also took a good toll on the grapefruit trees.  I am thinking that these will survive but might have a bit of a setback in producing fruit.   A thick carpet of leaves can be found beneath the two trees.  The trees look a mite bare compared to just a few weeks ago.  It surprised me to see that the Satsumas and kumquats were hardly bothered at all.  Do these trees know something that the others do not?

Now, it is to happen all over again.  For the next few nights the temperatures are to drop below freezing and the days will not warm much.  This does not bode well for the citrus trees.  There is just not a lot that I can do to protect the trees because of their size. Pop used to light a "burn barrel" in the midst of his trees when the temperatures dipped below freezing.  That smudge was to keep the area a bit above freezing.  I can remember that he and my oldest brother would go out several times during the night to stoke those barrels.  I am not sure it worked at all or whether it was to give him hope.  At least he was trying to save his trees.  I cannot make that claim other than the mulch that Michael and I laid on the roots.  I have no metal drums to use as burn barrels and even if I did, I do not relish getting out in the middle of the night to feed a fire!  I will just trust in my son's instinct and leave the trees be.  "Have patience, Mom, have patience."  Sometimes I think Michael knows a thing or two about plants!  (I sure hope my patience holds and that the citrus trees survive.)