3 year old macadamia tree after 3 nights of hard
freeze in February 2026 - standing strong.
Earlier in early February we had a rough stretch at the B-Farm in Sebring. Three nights around 25°F with steady wind. Weather like that quickly shows which plants actually belong in Zone 9 and which ones only look good on paper.
Once things warmed up and we could see the real results, a few clear winners stood out. All of the macadamias handled the cold surprisingly well. The grumichamas stayed solid. And the cold-hardy avocado varieties again proved why gardeners rely on them in borderline climates.
Instead of listing every tropical plant that might survive a freeze, we decided to keep things practical and focus on the ones that actually went through this cold spell and that we currently have in stock.
If you garden in USDA Zone 8b-9, these are the kinds of trees that make winter a lot less stressful.
🔮 When the World Around Becomes Too
Gray: Plant a Tree. Eat a Donut. Keep going.
Sunshine: Smokey, what do we do when the world around
becomes too gray? Smokey: Plant a tree. Sunshine: And if that does not help? Smokey: Plant another one. Sunshine: And eat a donut. Smokey: Not strictly necessary, but statistically
beneficial.
If you have been feeling a little worn down lately, you are not
alone.
You already know about the headlines. We do not need to list them. You
have probably seen them today before breakfast.
We are not here to pretend that is not happening. It is happening. And
it is a lot.
But here is the thing we keep coming back to, the thing that has been true
for as long as people have had hands and a patch of ground: when the world
feels out of control, you can still plant something.
Gardening is not an escape. It is an answer. When you put a tree in the
ground, you are making a quiet statement. You are saying that you expect
there to be a future. That you intend to be in it. That shade and fruit and
flowers still matter, and you are going to make sure they exist in your
corner of
the world.
That is not naive. That is courageous in the most ordinary and
underrated way.
One tree, planted this season, might give you fruit in a few years. It
might give butterflies somewhere to stop. It might give a bird a place to
nest. It will almost certainly give you something to look at on a hard day
that
reminds you the world still contains beauty, and that you put some of it
there.
And if one tree does not quite do it? Plant another one.
Dostoevsky said beauty will save the world. We think a mango fruiting in
your backyard counts. So does a Magnolia opening on a quiet morning.
Do not skip the donut.
A donut is a small, simple, completely unnecessary thing. That is
exactly the point. It is not productive. It does not solve anything. It is
just
good, and sometimes that is the whole reason. In a world that constantly
demands
you be useful and informed and concerned, eating a donut is a quiet act of
being human. You are allowed to enjoy a small thing on a hard day. You do
not
have to earn it.
Rest a little. Then go put something in the ground. Anything that will
grow and flower and remind you that beautiful things are still happening
whether the headlines mention them or not.
We just finished harvesting loquats
and mulberries,
and now another wave is coming in - low chill plums,
peaches, and nectarines fresh from the garden. This is one of
the most rewarding times of the year, when every season brings the fruit of
your labor and all that work finally turns into something sweet.
