The 2026 Florida Freeze Took Half Our Garden — Here's What Helped
Posted by Sunshine J. Chapman on Mar 19th 2026
If you garden in Florida, you lived through it. The 2026 freeze came hard and fast, and it didn't spare much.
Our test garden in Orlando — established over decades — lost close to 50% of its plants. Entire hedges, gone. Mature fruit trees frozen to a crispy, heartbreaking black. Some things are slowly showing signs of life. Many had to come out entirely. Our pruners, our loppers, and honestly, our arms have been getting a serious workout.
The silver lining — and there is one — is the time we've spent at our local independent garden centers. Learning what's cold-hardy. Replacing the lost plants with better choices for our climate. There's something quietly hopeful about rebuilding a garden with more intention than the one before.
If your garden took a hit too, here are the five tools that have been in our hands every single day through cleanup.
When you're pulling out dead root balls, hauling debris, and cutting back for hours at a stretch, your hands need real protection. The Traditions Gloves are made from 100% cow grain leather with a wing thumb design that lets you move naturally without losing grip. The grippiness really helps when pulling out the weeds that are trying to take over now that the landscape plants are gone. The adjustable wrist closure keeps debris out, which matters more than you'd think when you're elbow-deep in a hedge that didn't make it.
The unsung hero of heavy debris cleanup. Use them on their own or pair them with your leaf rake to pick up two to three times more in every pass. Lightweight, easy on your back, and genuinely satisfying to use when you're dealing with the kind of volume a freeze leaves behind. These have been in constant rotation.
For all the smaller branches and stems — the ones you're cutting back and quietly hoping will push new growth — this pruner has been our daily driver. Lightweight aluminum handles, an ergonomic grip, and a quick-release lock that makes it easy to move fast without hand fatigue. One-inch cutting capacity handles most of what freeze cleanup throws at you.
This is the one for the heavy work. When you're taking down what the freeze took first — thick branches, mature shrubs, and beloved fruit trees — the Ratchet Lopper is what you reach for. Telescoping pin-lock handles give you reach and leverage. The ratchet mechanism handles branches over two inches without destroying your shoulders. Every part is replaceable, including the handles. Built to last through more than one hard season.
We filled these over and over and over again. UV-stabilized polyethylene, frost-resistant, handles rated for 225 pounds, and made in the USA. Whether you're hauling frozen debris to the curb or collecting cuttings you're hoping will root, these totes hold up without complaint. Available in seven colors, which feels like a small but real morale boost when the garden looks its worst.
Rebuilding Takes Time
The freeze was a loss. There's no reframing that makes it not so. But gardens are resilient, and so are gardeners. If you're in the middle of cleanup right now, we hope this list helps. And if you've found your own cold-hardy favorites at your local garden center lately, we'd love to hear about them in the comments.
Here's to a beautiful spring — however we get there.
