Although it may not feel like it in the south, winter always comes. It may be for a day, a week, or three months, you just never know. You should be prepared for when mother nature rears her cold winds and make sure your plants are protected.
Most hardy shrubs and trees planted outdoors in Southeast Georgia are usually fine with cold weather. Summer annuals will probably not survive a freeze while most perennials, especially hardy ones could be damaged, but usually, come back next season. Here are a few tips to keep your plants as safe as possible during periods of frost or freezes.
Hydration Is Important Before A Freeze – Water water water….
This applies to most outdoor plants and especially plants in containers. Make sure your plants are well hydrated before a frost or freeze. Plants that have adequate water intake are less likely to suffer damage when winter weather sets in. Water well at the base of the plants a day before cold weather to give them time to absorb it. It’s best to provide water at least 8-12 ours before a freeze so plants can take it in.
Camellias And Cold Weather
Camellias, our pride and joy of the fall and winter garden, and we get a little anxious when the temps fall below freezing. Camellia plants are very resilient and can tolerate a good bit of cold. But in cases where we may see extremes, which is below 20°F, you could start to see some plant damage. Flower damage is another story. Flowers will burn when they freeze, so any open flowers or buds showing color could be damaged below 32°F. When we move lower, say mid 20’s, then we could start seeing bud damage.
The good news is that even if it gets cold enough to burn flowers, but not the buds, most camellias will rebound nicely for the remainder of the season if the weather cooperates.
Covering the plants provide some protection, especially to the flower buds. Freeze or frost damage to certain varieties will cause bud abort and may not hurt the plant but you lose the blooms. If possible, covering with a sheet or light blanket will also minimize windburn. If you have too many plants to rob all the blankets in the house, lightly watering the plants the evening before will shield the buds and foliage reasonably, this is what citrus growers have to do to save their crops.
Container Plants
Move any tender container plants indoors into a garage or covered porch. If you do decide to bring plants into your house, make sure you put them in a cool place and away from heat sources. Pay attention to container plants you leave outdoors as even hardy plants in containers will need some protection from cold weather. Insulate the containers with a blanket to help keep the roots warm
Covering Plants
If you decide to cover your plants, make sure you don’t use anything heavy. Heavy blankets can cause damage to limbs. Plastic is a good covering for plants, but dark or white plastic is better than clear. Also, plastic sitting right on top of the leaves could be a problem so we recommend using a light sheet to go between the pants and the plastic. Using some kind of frame or tomato cage to put plastic over would work as well. See the examples below.
I have a friend who took a plastic bag, put it over the plant then cut a hole in the top. She then filled the bag with leaves on the inside to envelope the plant. I thought that was an excellent idea for providing a great barrier for cold and I can’t wait to try it.
We use frost blankets in the nursery at times as they are designed for covering plants and offering frost protection. Depending on the one you get, it can raise the temperature 4-8°F. They also let moisture and light in and if they get wet, it won’t harm the plants. You can get these on Amazon.com, Walmart.com, and other internet sources – just search for Frost Blankets. They are inexpensive and can be reused over and over.
The Magic Of Mulch
Mulch provides a number of benefits. It helps to keep the surface soil temperature reasonably stable, retains moisture, and will wick out excessive moisture. In the summer months, we install mulch to slow weed germination and look good. Adding mulch for the winter will help keep the plant insulated and an added benefit is that it will reduce the growth of spores that cause petal blight. Types of mulch will vary given your location and availability.
Pine bark mulch is by far the longest-lasting natural product. Applying 2-3 inches is preferable; in some instances where the soil is very sandy and receives a lot of sun 4 inches is not too much.
Pine straw is excellent but will need replenishing 3-5 times more often than pine bark. Straw can be applied at 4-6 inches without suffocating the roots, once compressed it will only be about an inch thick.
Raked leaves can be used as an easy way to clean the yard and dispose of debris at the same time. The type of leaves used will determine the outcome of your efforts. Some deciduous trees such as sweetgum or redbud are very messy and the leaves tend to blow around the yard with the slightest wind. Oak leaves are good and tend to stay put somewhat and when decomposing they release small amounts of tannic acid which most shrubs prefer. Try to keep the oak leaves at no more than 2-2 ½ inches.
Cedar and cypress mulch has not impressed me much because it tends to mix with the soil too easily. This mulch is very showy and may be good in areas where slight erosion is possible.
