Frost and Pineapples.......ouch!!??

Hmmm. We got frost here (H.B!!! @ the freakin beach!!) in sunny so. cal this a.m. .

What's it gonna do to my Pineapples???

The Bananas, taro, palms, plumerias, etc. always pull it off. But, got a crop of pineapples bloomin' in the ground and I'm a little freaked out i'm gonna loose em'!

Gunny sack? Blankets? Newspaper?

It's freakin cold!!

(For us beach people,30-40-50's is death! )

[ Edited by: revbambooben on 2003-12-27 23:55 ]

what kind ya growin'? maybe betta if you cover'em with some plastic. When we stayed in Calli, my mom would put a black hefty bag to atract any sun there was.

we went to Disneyworld last year in February (that is cold season down here so it's SLOW. anyway they had all of their delicate vegitation wrapped in what looked like electric blankets, with a mylar under it. and then they had kerosen (spelling, lol never had to write that word before) torpedo heaters pointing at them. I'm not sure if you want to go that elaborate, but it might give you an idea on how to work something out yourself...

Yeah Ben, I think the frost killed my red and blue ginger I got in waikiki in Oct. My Plumerias look OK though
Mahalo,
Al

Sorry to hear about the frost. Usually heavy clear plastic is enough to insulate them and still let the sun through. Quickie makeshift greenhouse. Depends on how long the frost lasts and how large and established the plants are.
I noticed pansies blooming in our backyard. They survived 2 feet of snow being dumped on them.
Bizarre!

You can fill a black container with water & put it under the clear plastic with the plants. The black will absorb the heat from the sun during the day and radiate it back out at night.

Up here we wrap a towel or blanket around the bottom of frost sensitive plants, like giant bird of paradise, banana trees, etc. Frost usually kills sensitive plants or trees by freezing the water inside around the crown (lower trunk area just above the ground). You can lose the fronds or leaves, most of the time they'll grow back but if the crown freezes, it's bye bye birdie. Queen palms are little tougher but we get hard freezes about every 10 yrs. and I think this is the worst in a while. We've had about 10 already this season.

Rev,
Sorry to hear about your pineapples. Sorry I don't have any info to help you.

Do you have problems with ants and your banana trees? I have tried the little plastic ant houses, but no luck. Any thoughts?

Erich

On 2003-12-28 20:31, ErichTroudt wrote:
Do you have problems with ants and your banana trees? I have tried the little plastic ant houses, but no luck. Any thoughts?
Erich

For a nontoxic answer try yeast (the kind you bake with) The ants carry it to the nest, gobble it up, get gas and explode. What a way to go!

In the past it's gotten in the 20's here in mid-Florida. And my boyfriend and my opinion is let the strong survive. We use to cover and usually the wind just blows away the covering away. Our best bet for our pineapples is to just bring in on our porch, or garage. Haven't ever lost one. Usually when we freak out on a plant and try our best they usually kick the bucket. Put the pineapples are extremely durable plants. Good luck...