Winter is coming for your plants — be ready
Recent San Antonio-area temperatures in the 40s and even the 30s have reminded us that we need to be ready for even colder weather. Begin by moving plants such as porterweed, bougainvillea, primula and tropical hibiscus into a shelter that will stay above 40 degrees for the winter.
If you have limes, lemons and satsumas in movable containers, you can shift them into shelter temporarily when temperatures are forecast to drop lower than 30 degrees, or you can cover them.
One setup that makes it relatively easy to move them is to grow them in large black, plastic whiskey barrel-size containers that can be moved on a wheeled apparatus. Some gardeners will salvage a lawn mower frame by removing the motor and welding a platform on the wheels. It makes it easy to move lime or lemon from its sunny spot in the backyard into
With the cold weather, the zinnias have declined and should be replaced with cool-weather blooms for cut flowers and as a nectar source for the winter butterflies. Snapdragons are the usual blooming plant to replace zinnias in the cut flower garden, but stocks also do well, plus they have a pleasant fragrance. Use dianthus to provide nectar for the butterflies.
As soon as we receive some rain, expect the winter weeds to burst forth. Contact herbicides
the garage to avoid one or more nights of freezing temperatures.
Citrus planted in the ground or in wooden whiskey barrels need to be protected in place from low temperatures. Save old blankets, sheets and other cloth for covering the plants. They can also be used with products such as Insulate or Plankets.
I like to use two layers of fabric to cover a plant. An old bedspread tented over a satsuma and enclosed in a Planket usually works well to protect can be used for control. Review the labels to determine which one is best for your landscape. Simply mowing every two weeks also does a good job of controlling weeds. Lawns dominated by annual bluegrass or rescue grass are often quite attractive when mowed regularly.
It is a good time to plant spinach transplants in the garden, and onion transplants are also available at area nurseries. Select from yellow,
citrus from temperatures as low as 28 degrees. Some plants, such as cyclamen, do fine with a single sheet of Insulate or a blanket spread over the bed. For more information on the cold sensitivity of landscape plants, visit plantanswers.com.
The degree of threat from cold weather is not a simple concept. The most obvious threat is reflected in the temperature. The lower it is, the greater chance there is for damage. There are, of course, other factors to consider. Each plant white and red onion selections, including the popular 1015 mild onion and the more potent red Cajun. Plant the onions 4 inches apart, and harvest the middle two plants as green onions before the May harvest.
It is a good time to plant shade trees as long as the planting hole is soaked with water and the tree receives a weekly irrigation unless we start receiving enough rain to meet the tree’s needs. species and even varieties within species have differing degrees of sensitivity to cold. A Mexican lime would be seriously damaged by 28 degrees, but a kumquat would not be hurt.
Another factor is the length of the cold spell. Forty-eight hours of 30 degrees will often do more damage than a few hours of 28 degrees. Factors such as wind and temperature change also are important.
Clear plastic is difficult to use as a plant cover because the interior of the tent heats up so quickly when the sun emerges. To avoid overheating and injuring the covered plant, the plastic must be removed or vented when the sun shines.
If the temperatures are forecast to drop below 28 degrees or below freezing for more than six to eight hours, you need not only a covering for protection but a heat source. My favorite heat sources are mechanics lights with non-led bulbs to provide the heat. They are sturdy and easy to use with a long, heavy-duty extension cord. Hang one light within your fabric cover for each of the cold-sensitive plants.
We used to recommend Christmas tree lights as a heat source, but now most of them include LED light bulbs that don’t provide any heat. Christmas tree lights also get tangled easily or lay on the ground or against the plant foliage. What does work as well as mechanics’ lights are poultry heat lamps.