Icy trees from the A.H. Whitmore Foundation Farm in Groveland during the recent Florida freeze
Photos courtesy of Lennon Grove Service
By Peter Chaires
Emerging from the 2025 hurricane season unscathed, there was a newfound optimism in the air for Florida citrus growers. Trees were upright, fruit was on the tree, and incremental quality improvements were being reported. The industry collectively breathed a sigh of relief.
Then came two severe freeze events in mid-January 2025 and early February 2026. These were reported as the coldest days since 2010. It was clearly the coldest weather some growers had ever experienced, as many were not active during the historic freezes of the 1980s. Most of the impact of the recent freezes is now evident for growers and research teams.
DIFFERENT DEGREES OF DAMAGE
“I didn’t know what I thought I knew” was a familiar statement in the months following the freezes. Impacts on fruit, young trees and mature trees were varied and largely inconsistent. Packers had blocks that were lost, and harvesting was not even attempted. They also had blocks with degrees of damage, influenced by a myriad of factors, such as availability of water, elevation, condition of the trees before the cold, etc.
Wholesome fruit was available to pack, but it took more work to identify it. Most of those interviewed were confident that cold events in advance of the freezes served to condition (harden-off) the trees and provided an additional level of protection.
One grower pointed out a block with 15% to 20% fruit loss, and another a short distance down the road with 45% fruit loss. Both blocks shared the same variety, rootstock, grove architecture and freeze protection. Older trees, having absorbed a range of stresses in their lifespan, seem to have suffered the most.
Despite the loss of fruit, some tree loss and limb dieback, most agree that they expected so much worse. After all, it has been a long time since Central Florida has experienced eight to 10 hours under 28 degrees. It was also a reminder why citrus was not historically planted in some locations.
RESEARCH IMPACT
While the full impact on research projects is still being determined, some experiments with small trees will need to be repeated. This is never good news, as new tree orders and lost bloom represents lost time. Time is not a luxury the Florida citrus industry has.
One researcher noted that the freeze seemed to resynchronize the bloom on some trees that had been off kilter due to HLB and changing weather patterns. Others described lost blooms (on research trees, this means no crosses made this year), damaged and dead trees as well as degraded quality of late-season fruit. It will take a while more for everything to settle out.
It is hard to find a silver lining in such events. However, from a purely citrus perspective, considering the magnitude of the event, perhaps God smiled on us just a little.
LOOKING AHEAD
Though final 2025–26 New Varieties Development & Management Corp. (NVDMC) sponsored project reports are not due until June, the state budget process begins now. Consequently, it is time to assess and evaluate. The NVDMC board of directors will meet with research teams to discuss what went well, setbacks and challenges. Following these assessments, the board will evaluate research proposals for 2026–27 and prepare budgets in preparation for the May and June Florida Citrus Commission meetings. NVDMC will soon provide details on research priorities and the focus of approved projects.
Peter Chaires is executive director of NVDMC.
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