Protect those Plants and Trees as Temps Drop
As winter temps close in on south Texas we wanted to share some tips for protecting your trees and shrubs. Many use the old practice of throw an old blanket over them and we’re good. But if you’re like me I finally started learning that it takes a bit more than that when the temps drop into the 20’s and teens to keep your treasured greenery alive. Plants and trees don’t produce their own heat like humans, so just throwing a “coat” over them will help get them through a light frost but when you start getting lower temps for prolonged periods you must provide a heat source and/or better protection.
Here are a few tips we have learned:
An old blanket or sheet will suffice for a light frost one night but for any longer periods of below freezing weather you need to get more serious. We recommend investing in Freeze Cloths or Frost Blankets. These are specially designed to protect from the cold weather but they also breathe so they can remain over the plants for long periods without causing further damage. Agfabric is one popular brand that can be found in many shapes and sizes at Home Depot, Lowes, or Amazon.
During a frost, protect leaves by using a simple structure over the plant to keep the cover from laying directly on the leaves. These can be easily made from ½” PVC pipe and connectors.
In addition to having the correct cover, when temps are well below freezing for multiple nights, you must provide some type of heat source under the cover. Here are a couple of ideas:
Place a string of christmas lights near the center of the shrub or around the trunk of small trees. In order to provide enough heat you must use the old style incandescent lights. LED lights will not provide the heat needed.
Place a 30 to 55 gallon plastic barrel (black is best) of water near and UNDER the cover for the plants and trees. During the warmer daytime hours the water in the barrel is heated and as the temperature falls at night the stored heat will provide warmth under the blanket. This is a great “no electricity” option.
We hope you find these tips helpful to provide some improved protection for your plants, shrubs and small trees as the temperature falls over the next several days.