VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — Cold temperatures in Central Florida have threatened crops and sent farmers and gardeners into action, trying to save their vulnerable plants.  

After last week’s cold snap, Volusia County farmer David Register says he has lost 10-15% of certain crops in his fernery. 

“You see the young stuff, how it’s burnt?” said Register, pointing to a young Leatherleaf plant, one of the plants affected by the freeze. 

To prepare for the freeze, Register’s farm called Fern Trust irrigated the plants, an energy-intensive process that involves continually spraying water over the crops.

“The other thing that’s been really difficult about this freeze since we use the irrigation method is we’re burning a lot of diesel fuel, and the diesel fuel prices are double what they were last year at this time,” said Register.

The last major freeze Register’s farm endured was in the 1980s, when the farm was owned and operated by his parents. 

“Fern used to be kind of a small percentage of our operations, and when we had the freeze in ‘83 that killed all of our orange groves, we went heavily into fern production,” said Register.

Register said he feels lucky to be in the fern business, a hardier crop than citrus. Still, his business is subject to fluctuations in the climate and the economy. 

“The problem is, the price is pretty high already, so I don’t know how much more room there is for that to go up,” said Register, who said he is concerned inflation will lower demand ornamental plants like the ones he sells.

Register said it will take a few days more to fully assess the damages from the freeze.