2-minute read
Lakeland Horticulturist Stacy Smith has a simple message for residents worried about brown leaves or drooping plants after several nights of sub-freezing temperatures: Don’t panic.
“I know a lot of people will have some brown trees and plants at home,” Smith told city commissioners Monday. “They’re changing color right now, as we speak. If the leaves start to fall off of the plants, that’s a good sign. That means the plant is actually trying to heal itself.”
Smith said residents should resist the urge to immediately prune or replace plants that appear damaged. Leaf drop, he explained, is often part of a plant’s natural recovery process after cold stress.
“In a couple of weeks, we’ll know what all the damage is,” Smith said. “If the trees and plants are still holding onto their brown leaves at that point, they’re probably not in good shape. But just watch them and see what they do. They’ll tell you what’s going on.”
Smith shared the advice during a City Commission meeting where he also presented this month’s residential and commercial beautification awards.
The February 2026 commercial award went to Tiger Contracting at 2830 Drane Field Road.
“As you can see in the picture, there are palmettos and pine trees and, outside of the picture, some cypress trees. They did their landscape completely native, and they did it very effectively,” Smith said. “The palmettos are excellent buffers for their parking area, and you don’t have to worry about those plants getting too cold.”
The residential beautification award went to Viet L. Ho and Thi Vu, owners of a fully renovated 1948 bungalow with a semi-circular driveway at 2309 Derbyshire Ave.
Smith described their front yard as “modern and slightly eclectic.”
“It really caught my attention when I saw it,” he said.
For more information about protecting plants from freezing temperatures, visit the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) Extension Service in Polk County.
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