Hello Gardeners! Today I write from an office that is nice and warm! However, it looks out at a landscape which is pretty much barren after being stripped of it's plants, which I brought inside to protect them from the cold. Record temps....shouldn't that conjure up thoughts in a Floridian of hot sun and hot breezes with stifling humidity? What's this cold stuff anyway? I want my money back!
   When I go through the gyrations of bringing the number of plants inside that  I must, with this kind of weather, I start to really question my sanity. Let me tell you, as many pots as I have in my nursery, hauled one by one and crammed into spaces, is it worth it? They are there for how long? One maybe two days, and then back out to the warm Florida sun. Either the Governor needs to rebate all South Florida Gardeners for property taxes prorated for these cold days, or we as gardeners need to check our commitment to the game. I guess we aught to count our blessings (or should I say count our pots?). If we keep most plants in pots, at least we can move them to safety. Building little tents  around each plant in a garden is really time consuming and a major frustration.
   I will say it one more time, when the temp gets to 50ƒ, start thinking about cold damage, below 50ƒ start doing something about it. Do what? Protect and shelter them from the wind, water, water, water, and water, unless it is raining. We are talking only a few degrees of difference which can decide between  damage and no damage. Remember, even if your plant is damaged and loses all

of it's leaves, it may still recover (it's just going to look a little ugly), so don't cut it down until you have given it a chance (several weeks in most cases). Also do not prune cold damaged plants. Not even the damaged branches and leaves.
   On to what we said we would cover last time! Hedges. A recommendation for the most flexible, prunable, well kept and controllable is ....Podicarpus. Other great hedges, not only for look but ease in maintaining, inexpensive replacement when necessary, and fast growing, are Acalypha. Especially consider the "copperleafs" and don't let the name fool you, they come in many colors and combinations of colors. These are also known as Acalypha wilkesiana sp. and there is a beautiful array of them. You may also be able to put to use, what many growers call the "living fence," it's common name is "blue sky vine" and it is a vine and it does grow fast and it is beautiful, and it makes a living fence, FAST!
   I had the opportunity to talk with Jay Vedaee, our Broward County Horticulture Extension Agent, about the Mylocerrus Undata. Here is another back yard pest, which, if you have not been introduced to it, don't look forward to the introduction, but do watch out for it. This little white weevil is a more recent import, it is thought, from Australia. The beast has a veracious appetite for anything you may have in your yard which is green. It flies like a pig with wings, wings that are too short to support it's flight. It lands on the "salad subject" at night, sticks itself to the leaf with its feet and tears at the leaf with back and forth body motions. It does