Water is a critical resource in the state of Florida, a statement that seems bizarre since we are a peninsula surrounded by water and many of our tourist attractions involve water (water parks, beaches, springs). The thing about water is it’s not a renewable resource. We cannot make more. Water is also dynamic. It’s always moving or changing forms (ice, vapor, liquid). And, while we tend to separate water into freshwater and marine/coastal silos, the reality is, it’s all one water.
Florida Waters Stewardship Program
One water is a concept I teach in my Florida Waters Stewardship Program (FWSP). Whether you’ve studied water resources or just curious about them, there is always more to learn! I am about to embark on the ninth offering of FWSP and I would love to have you join. We start off with watershed basics, understanding where we find water throughout Florida and how it connects above and below ground. We then explore changing waterscapes and how population growth has impacted water quality, quantity, distribution and timing. Class wouldn’t be complete without exploring the major users of water, future water supply and emerging issues. Each class session takes place at a new location in Pinellas County that ties into the topic of the day. Between class sessions, we explore various online resources and keep in touch via an online forum. Participants are also encouraged to attend a public meeting with a water-focus and complete a water-related stewardship project. Classes meet every other week for six class sessions. Spaces are limited, but you can find out more and register here: https://2026FWSP.eventbrite.com
Drought
You may have noticed that we are currently under watering restrictions due to drought conditions. As of 2/12/2026, we can all only water once per week. We had a drier than normal rainy season last year, and we are currently in the dry season which certainly isn’t helping the situation. Please adhere to the watering schedule and rules as outlined here: https://pinellas.gov/watering-schedule-and-rules/
Freeze
I never thought my kids would get tired of mommy making snowballs out of the frost on our car, but it has happened. My credit cards are worn from scraping ice off my windshield, and many of our plants have not tolerated the freezes very well. But, among the frosted grasses and brown vegetation that has already succumbed to the freeze, I recently spotted something unusual.
There was a large cluster of white at the base of several stems as I was driving into work. Unsure of what I was looking at, I hopped out of my car to get a closer look. What I saw was what appeared to be the stem of this plant exploding! I didn’t get time to look long because there was a car approaching behind me, so I snapped some pictures quickly and went to the office. What I didn’t realize until later was the part that “exploded” that I assumed to just be plant cells was actually ice! I went back for a closer look after researching this phenomenon. The white was actually beautiful arrays of ice crystals! The patterns of ice can vary and depending on how they form, they can be called “frost ribbons”, “ice flowers” or “frost flowers”. These ice art forms usually form as the base of the stem, about 6-8 inches off the ground, but I found a few that extended well over a foot up the stem! This spectacle does not occur on all plants, but in Florida, frostweed and tropical sage seem to be the most likely candidates to display ice ribbons, as was the case for me!
For these to form, not only does the air temperature have to be below freezing (it was 28 degrees when I snapped my pictures), but the dew point (the air temperature at which water condenses) must also be below freezing, and the soil temperature must be above freezing. These conditions can be met following a strong cold front in late fall and winter.
According to some researchers that have investigated ice ribbons, the ice crystals grow outwards from the split stem, so the ice is added from the base of the ribbon. The theory is once the stem ruptures from expansion of the plant tissue on the outermost layer of the plant, the xylem (the plant tissue responsible for moving water up the plant, just inside the plant stem) keeps water moving up the stem, but once the water is exposed to the air through the stem that has now split, it freezes. And it freezes as the capillary action of the xylem is slowly pulling water up the stem, creating these beautiful ice ribbons.
Summary
Water is fascinating in so many ways. Whether it’s here or not, we can see it or not, it’s frozen or not, water is all around us and so critically important to our lives and our environment.
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