Freeze Aftermath - Preliminary Damage Report

Temperature Data for Zip Code 77379

I hate freezing weather. When I started planting fruit trees a few years ago, all the weather data for the past 10 years suggested that I wouldn't see temperatures below 27 degrees. Last year I got hit hard with 17 degrees. I thought it was a freak occurrence, and hoped for a mild winter the following year.

BAM! Hit again, this time with a low of 19 degrees, and almost 3.5 days with temperatures near or below freezing. I did my best to protect everything, but there was only so much I could do against rolling blackouts and strong winds. Unfortunately, it's not over yet. Another hard freeze is predicted for tonight and tomorrow. Hopefully this will be the last one of the year. I've tried to summarize the levels of cold protection and their relative effectiveness below. I'll have to wait until early spring to see the full extent of the damage.

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Tree	Protection	Damage
Okitsu Wase Satsuma	Mulch Bank and Bucket of Water	Minor Leaf Damage
Changshou Kumquat	No Protection	Minor Leaf Damage
Meiwa Kumquat	No Protection	Minor Leaf Damage
Meyer Lemon	Few Xmas Lights & Bucket of Water	50% Leaves Damaged
Rep of Texas Orange	Few Xmas Lights & Bucket of Water	Upper 30% Damaged
Sarawak Pummelo	40W Bulb, Mulch Bank, & Sheet	Minor Leaf Damage
Pong Koa Mandarin	Xmas Lights, Mulch Bank, & Sheet	Minor Leaf/Twig Damage
Cara Cara Navel	Xmas Lights, Mulch Bank, & Sheet	No Damage
Sarawak/Pong Koa (small)	40W Bulb, Mulch Bank, & Trash Can	No Damage
Hirado Butan Pummelo	Xmas Lights, Mulch Bank, & Sheet	Minor Leaf Damage
Orlando Tangelo	Xmas Lights, Mulch Bank, & Sheet	No Damage
Bloomsweet Grapefruit	Xmas Lights, Mulch Bank, & Sheet	No Damage
Wekiwa Tangelo	Xmas Lights, Mulch Bank, & Sheet	Minor Leaf Damage
Owari Satsuma	Mulch Bank, Next to Rain Tank	Minor Leaf Damage
Ujukitsu	Brought Inside Shed	No Damage
Jaboticabas	Brought Inside Shed	No Damage
Ruby Grapefruit	Brought Inside Shed	No Damage
Everhard Navel (Sour Orange)	40W Bulb & Sheet	30% Leaf/Branch Damage
Kishu Mandarin	40W Bulb & Sheet	New Growth Killed
Calamondins	60W Bulb & Sheet, On Covered Deck	Minor Leaf Damage
Moro Blood Orange	60W Bulb & Sheet, On Covered Deck	Severe Damage
Mexican Lime	60W Bulb & Sheet, On Covered Deck	Severe Damage
Buddha's Hand Citron	Xmas Lights & Plastic, On Covered Deck	Severe Damage
Lakeland Limequat	No Protection	90% Defoliated
Mexicola Grande Avocado	Soil Bank & Bucket of Water	100% Leaf Damage
Lila Avocado	Soil Bank & Bucket of Water	No Damage
Miho Satsuma (Sour Orange)	Wrapped in Towel/Bubble Wrap	No Damage
Improved Meyer Lemon	Brought Inside Garage	No Damage
Surinam Cherry	Brought Inside Garage	No Damage

Mexican Lime - Severely Damaged

Moro Blood Orange - Severely Damaged

Buddha's Hand Citron - Severely Damaged

Republic of Texas Orange - Upper 30% Damaged

Mexicola Grande Avocado - All Leaves Damaged

Lila Avocado - No Freeze Damage

Comparison of 2010 and 2011 freezes.