Lawn & Garden

Follow These Steps to Help Protect You Plants

Follow the following steps to help protect your hard work and investments during cold weather.

•  Know which plants you have in your landscape and garden because some plants can withstand cold better than others. Extra care and attention should be placed on any new plantings and those that are more tender and susceptible to freeze. Some particular plants that will struggle in this cold weather may include, but not limited to, sago palms, bottlebrush, hibiscus, croton, philodendrons, rosemary, bougainvillea. Even your cool season annuals and plants selected for typical Brazos Valley temperatures will most likely be injured in the sustaining freezing temperatures that are predicted.
•  Cover you plants with frost cloth, blankets or quilts, or cardboard boxes. The goal is to hold in the heat. Ensure that the coverings go all the way to the ground so that air cannot flow underneath. Do not use tarps or plastic sheets.
•  Add Christmas lights (new led lights do not work as well) or other heat admitting lights to increase temperatures. Be careful not to have the lights directly touching the plants or coverings.
• Move all container plants indoors, if possible. If you are unable to move your large containers inside the house, move them to a covered area or against a larger structure.
•  Water your plants beforehand. A deep mulch will also help hold heat in the root zone. In some cases, although the tops of the plants may be damaged, the roots will survive allowing the plant to regenerate.

Leave your plants covered until the freeze is over. It will take a few days, maybe weeks, to see the extent of damage to your plants. Be patient and not too quick to prune dead limbs and leaves since we may experience another cold snap. Keep watching our newsletter and we will feature a follow-up to how our landscapes faired from the freeze.