The Tropical Garden Spring 2010 Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden by Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden instant download after payment.

At long last it appears that springtime is finally here, putting an end to the long and unusually cold winter we have experienced in South Florida. This year the low temperatures arrived in mid-January and lasted for months, striking a major blow to our plant collections and psyche. Every gardener I know lost at least one favorite plant, and all South Florida landscapes show some degree of unsightly cold damage.
Our friends to the north do not understand the reason for our whining. Although it is true that any South Florida winter is mild by most standards, many of our tropical plants begin to suffer as soon as temperatures dip below 50°F. This year’s prolonged nighttime temperatures in the 40°s caused a great deal of damage to South Florida landscapes, as did the dips into the low 30°s on a few nights. At Fairchild our heliconias and gingers have been knocked back to the ground or killed. Many of our palms are suffering to some degree, and a few of the most tender species will never recover. 
The poor cannonball tree adjacent to the Cycad Circle appears to be on strike, refusing to put out itsspringtime flush of leaves until the cold is finally gone. The massive Sago palm in the lowlands, thefirst of its kind to fruit at Fairchild, dropped its fruit prematurely when the temperature dropped tothe low 30°s.
Although we become sentimental about some of the impacts to our plants, it is important to remember the experimental nature of our collection at Fairchild. Our founders designed the Garden to be a place where new tropical plants are introduced, evaluated and promoted for landscapes in our region and beyond. Extreme conditions are an important part of the evaluation process. Along with cold weather, the hurricanes, droughts and floods have provided important information on the ability of plant species to adapt to our conditions.