Hurricane Ian

Tropiflora update, Wednesday October 5, 2022.

Hurricane Ian brought wind, rain and devastation to all in its path. Once the winds died down and the sun rose we explored the damage. Here at the nursery we found flattened greenhouses with plants still in them, partially destroyed greenhouses listing to one side, greenhouses with bent metal hoops laying flat on the benches, cables and shade cloth ripped to shreds and not a roof in sight. Our first few days were spent removing fallen trees, picking up scattered greenhouse parts and cobbling together scrap pieces of screen to help provide our plants some relief from the sun.

With broken greenhouses comes broken irrigation and the plants are almost a week without water. While the initial review of structures and recovery outlook has started, we have not yet begun to assess the damage to the plants. We will begin retrieving our plants from under the flattened greenhouses next week. We are still open to the public but only certain greenhouses are safe to explore. Our regular VIPP offerings will be scaled back until we can get a handle on what remains alive. We may have to substitute or even refund you for plants you purchased that are no longer available. We just don’t know yet.

All of the Tropiflora team members are safe. In the past week we have received many emails and calls asking about our nursery, our plants and our crew. We thank you for your continued prayers and support as we navigate this shared disaster. We are lucky - there are many others who have suffered much more than we have with loss of their homes and even their lives. We are all in this together and we will survive.