Florida’s colder-than-usual winter is creating challenges for homeowners’ lawns and gardening teams at central Florida theme parks.
At Walt Disney World, that meant covering elaborate topiary with frost cloth overnight. At Legoland Florida, heaters have been installed around the base of the park’s famous banyan tree, a natural staple since the days of Cypress Gardens.
“We did a lot to help with the preparations, and we were able to save a lot by covering the tender bedding plants and some of the more valuable plants with frostcloth to protect them,” said Michelle Cherkys, Walt Disney World Horticulture Manager.
Disney maintained a greenhouse on the property, where several topiaries were kept along with flower towers, or stacks of decorative flowers.
Two extended periods of subzero temperatures occurred as WDW prepared for the ongoing Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival.
“We can’t cover everything at Walt Disney World, so we’ve only covered the key points of service,” Cherkyz said.
Thanks to flower vendors and good planning, the festival’s look survived, she said.
“We make topiary, we make flower towers, we do floating gardens, but a lot of the colors are purchased and planned a year in advance and everything is delivered,” Cherkis said.
“Being able to come up with a careful and thoughtful plan after an event like this was a huge benefit,” she said.
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Thrilling rides and wide walkways surround the landscape, which continues to be a hallmark of Orlando’s parks and resorts. They range from basic flower beds and planters to scene-setting and themes for green areas, such as the tropical atmosphere of Jurassic Park at Universal’s Islands of Adventure and Aquatica, SeaWorld’s water park.
“We’ve seen some browning and discoloration of some of the vegetation in the park, but that’s normal,” said Corey Lytle, director of technical services for Legoland Florida.
“The plants in this park have been around for a long time, and this isn’t necessarily the first time a cold snap has actually hit this area,” he said. “So the garden is still here. It’s survived this long, so we hope it will survive much longer in the future.”
Among the survivors are banyan trees planted in the early 1930s at Cypress Gardens. (Legoland opened on site in 2011 and maintains the historic gardens.)
“We pay special attention to the banyan trees. We put heaters all around the base of the trees,” Lytle said. “Our team prepares days in advance to grow banyan trees and support their longevity.”
The expansive tree has been measured to be approximately 200 feet in diameter.
“That canopy is so huge that it technically doesn’t have anything to wrap around itself,” Lytle said.
After an initial period of cool weather, Legoland has replaced some of the young plants near the new Galactic Coaster attraction.
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“We’ve pruned some of it, we’ve pruned some of it. We’ve replanted it as needed,” Lytle said. “Our entire park is irrigated in a sense, so we monitor that as well. We put water back in if we need to, and a little more water if we need to.”
Visitors to Disney World may notice some pruning. For example, the palm trees near the Magic Kingdom’s Crystal Palace restaurant and near the entrance to Epcot have few leaves. It looks like a spike.
“What’s left is the middle part of the palm, which is where the new palm leaves come out. They just removed the brown, frost-damaged leaves,” Cherkis said. “We had a little bit of rain last week, so you could see some stores open.”
“We’re all excited to feel like we’re officially in the spring. And as native Floridians, this is something we’re not used to,” she said.
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