Winter 2020-2021 report – The temperature finally dipped below freezing this season, but not by much

We finally had some freezes this year. After two consecutive winters that were so extraordinarily warm they didn’t cause any freeze damage to vegetation in my location (north Marion county, Florida, USA), temperatures this season finally dipped below the freezing point. Cold enough to cause something like what used to be typical winter die-back in … More Winter 2020-2021 report – The temperature finally dipped below freezing this season, but not by much

Two extraordinarily mild winters in Florida: 2018-2019 and 2019-2020

We’ve just had the second consecutive winter with no sub-freezing temperatures in my part of Florida, a weather occurrence I rate as freakishly unusual. I’ve been living in Florida since the mid 1990s, and in my area (between Ocala and Gainesville), winter usually features a number of cold fronts that drop overnight temps down to … More Two extraordinarily mild winters in Florida: 2018-2019 and 2019-2020

Evaluating mulberry varieties for early bud break, Jan 2020

Mulberries are a great fruit tree for Florida (and just about everywhere else). But a major challenge in growing them in North and Central Florida is that some varieties get fooled by warm spells during winter into thinking that spring as arrived, and they break dormancy too early. As long as a mulberry tree is … More Evaluating mulberry varieties for early bud break, Jan 2020