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Good health is one of the best defenses your plants have against cold damage. Here are a few tips:
When frost is predicted, plants can be covered with sheets, blankets, newspapers, cardboard boxes or any other suitable materials. This covering should not be left on more than two or three days even if you have to recover them later.
Mulch tender plants; this may prevent the stem and roots from being killed.
Applying water to the ground around plants before a frost or freeze may be helpful, but make sure your sprinkler system is not set on automatic during freezing weather.
A lot of damage can be done to plants when sprinklers come on in the early morning hours and ice forms on plants. This not only freezes tender plants but also causes limbs and plants to split or break.
Be sure to check the soil around plants for dryness. The foliage could be transpiring (losing water vapor) on a sunny day after a freeze while water in the soil or container medium is frozen. Apply water to thaw the soil and provide available water for plants.
Although you may be tempted to prune wilted plants, severe pruning should be delayed until new growth appears to ensure the live wood is not removed. Cold-injured wood can be identified by scraping a small section of bark and examining the cambium layer beneath the bark for brown or black discoloration. Prune these branches behind the point of discoloration.
- Compiled by Opal W. Schallmo and Nancy R. Volmar of the Pinellas County Cooperative Extension Service. If you have questions, call them at (727) 582-2100.