The sunshine fruit... but only if you like it frozen: Icicles in Florida's orange groves

It is known as the Sunshine State for the balmy weather that makes it an ideal climate for growing fruit.

But temperatures in Florida dipped well below zero on Tuesday night, and farmers awoke yesterday to find icicles hanging from their oranges.

Growers sprayed water on to fruit in an effort to keep it above 0 degrees Celsius and salvage millions of dollars worth of produce.



Orange sorbet: Farmers sprayed water on to their crops in an effort to keep fruit like these, in Seffner, from freezing inside

Blossom chill: A layer of ice encases the beautiful flowers and tender red fruit of the strawberry plant in Dover, Central Florida



In a lucky escape for fruit farms in Central Florida, their oranges appeared to survive the dangerously chilly night.

The unusual cold snap had left orange groves laden with icicles as well as bright, juicy fruit.

John Arnold at Showcase of Citrus in Clermont said December's warm weather made the fruit more vulnerable to the cold, but that they had coped with the freeze.



'The trees pulled through exceptionally,' he said. 'We did not have any ice form in any of the fruit.

'We've got basically five weeks ahead of us, and if we do make it five weeks without any kind of severe weather, we're going to have an exceptional crop in 2012.'

Berry bad weather: The tender fruit, which is ready for harvest here in Plant City, Central Florida, had to survive a rare overnight freeze

Ice lolly: Citrus farmers believe their crops have survived the wintry conditions without too much damage Florida Citrus Mutual said that some farmers experienced damage in low-lying areas, but that fortunately the bad weather did not last long enough for significant damage. Tender strawberries were covered in frost in areas including Dover and Plant City, where the nation shivered as temperatures dropped to around -3C (25F). The blossom surrounding the ripe red berries looked frozen in time, as farmers ran sprinklers to insulate the plump fruit, the steam rising from the warm ground. January is the beginning of strawberry harvest season in Central Florida, and cold weather at this point can damage the entire crop. But growers - especially in eastern Hillsborough and Polk counties - were hopeful that the overnight freeze was short enough for the plants to escape lasting damage.

The Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association said low temperatures reached -3C in Belle Glade, but bean and corn crops pulled through, with just patchy areas of damage.



David Boozer, the executive director of the Florida Tropical Fish Farm Association, said his members were not anticipating major losses from the cold spell - unlike a devastating freeze in 2010, when farmers lost more than 80 per cent of their fish.



'The last three winters in a row it seems like we have been just clobbered,' he said.



Meanwhile, hundreds of manatees huddled together in the warm waters of the Tampa Electric Company's power plant in Apollo Beach, Tampa Bay.