[BigBobber]

Did I read somewhere that colder weather in the last few decades was forcing citrus growers into the very southern tip of Florida?

[the invisib1e hand]

The Florida Citrus belt has been inching south for at least a generation, I am told.

The Great Freeze of 1894-95 ruined many of the groves throughout Florida. Production dropped to a mere 147 thousand boxes in 1895. As a result, growers began their gradual move to locations farther south in the state. By 1910, the crops had returned to pre-freeze production levels..... By 1915, production reached 10 million boxes. In 1950, the state’s citrus industry picked its first total citrus crop of 100 million boxes. In 1971, Florida’s citrus growers harvested the first crop to exceed 200 million boxes of fruit..... Although Florida’s citrus industry has encountered more freezing temperatures during the 20th century, the industry has continued to thrive as new groves are planted farther south after each freeze.

[PPHSFL]

A combination of factors, including explosive population growth and severe freezes during the 1980s, basically ended the days of massive citrus groves in central FL. They are mostly now in the southern parts of the state.

[Casekirchen]

"Did I read somewhere that colder weather in the last few decades was forcing citrus growers into the very southern tip of Florida?"

--- Thats strange, I thought that global warming was forcing the citrus growers into Georgia

[CFC__VRWC]

Back in the early 1980's, you could drive US 27 in northern Polk and southern Lake Counties, and see nothing but vast citrus groves as far as the eye could see. The land there is ideal for citrus - high and dry and well drained (citrus doesn't tolerate damp roots very well).

The freeze of 1989 pretty much wiped out those groves, and the real estate market really started to take off in that area at about the same time. Many of the growers sold their property to developers and either got out of the citrus business entirely, or moved south. When you drive that stretch of US 27 today, all you see is rooftops and shopping plazas, with the occasional going-to-wild patch of citrus trees. It may well be the fastest growing part of Florida today, as Orlando steadily spreads out.