With a couple of cold snaps each winter, now is a good time to review how to protect your plants.

Be sure to bring in all the ones that are mobile. It takes less time to prepare than it is to replant and wait for plants to grow again.

For those plants in the ground, be sure to cover them to keep in the warmth from the soil. You should cover them with sheets or blankets. Sheets weigh less, so use them on the more delicate plants. You can use plastic also -- just make sure it isn’t in direct contact with the plants. Use it as another layer above the sheet or blanket.

Always take them off first thing in the morning, so condensation doesn’t form and freeze onto the plants the next night if it stays cold. One good place to pick up extra sheets for a good price is a local thrift store. You save money and help out a good cause. You also get to keep those plants safe from the cold.

The coldest we have been in Orlando is 18 degrees, back on Dec. 28, 1894. More recent, very cold snaps were in December 1983 and January 1985. I remember them well. I actually saw flurries on Christmas Eve 1983 and brownouts were rolling everywhere, with people cranking their heaters. We also lost most of the citrus crop thanks to those two winters.

Stay warm, folks!