BEFORE THE FREEZE
To prepare of the impending freeze, here some tips South Louisiana landowners can use to prepare their plants and green spaces from freezing temperatures.
Mulch: Apply a thick layer of mulch such as pine straw or leaves around your plants. This will insulate the soil, protect the roots, and help retain heat and moisture. Mulching is particularly effective for protecting the root zones and crowns of plants.
Cover Plants: Use frost cloth or lightweight blankets to cover your plants, ensuring they reach the ground to trap heat. For potted plants that are too heavy to move indoors, cover them with cloth and then add a plastic layer on top, securing the edges to the ground.
Water: Water your plants thoroughly if the soil is dry, especially 3 to 4 days before a predicted freeze. Moist soil retains heat better and helps to protect roots. Avoid watering the foliage directly as it does not provide cold protection.
Protect Irrigation Systems: Shut off the water supply to irrigation systems (see previous blog post on Vista’s website) and insulate any exposed pipes to prevent freezing and potential damage.
Bring Potted Plants Inside: If possible, bring potted plants inside. For those that cannot come in, group them together in a sheltered area and cover them. Remember, container-grown plants are more vulnerable to cold due to less insulation around the roots.
Protect Vegetables and Fruit Trees: Some winter vegetables like kale and collards can withstand freezes. Harvest more sensitive vegetables beforehand. For budding fruit trees or shrubs, spraying them with water before a freeze can provide a protective ice layer that releases heat.
POST-FREEZE CARE
Uncover Plants: After the freeze is over, move potted plants back outside and remove any coverings from plants. As temperatures rise, covered plants can burn. And plants also need the sun to grow and stay healthy.
Water: Check the water needs of plants after a freeze. Water that is still in the soil may be frozen and unavailable to the roots and plants can dry out. To make sure a plant is getting its needed water, apply water to thaw the soil and the ice. It is best to water in the afternoon or evening the day after a freeze so plants have had a chance to slowly raise their temperature.
Wait to Prune: Wait to prune plants until new growth appears in late winter or early spring. Pruning plants during winter months can make them more vulnerable during cold temperatures. Also, in the spring, the damage from cold temperatures will be more obvious so you can more easily remove the damaged parts of the plants.
Determine If Any Damage Has Occurred: To determine if the wood of a plant has been injured by the cold weather check the layer directly under the bark by carefully scratching through the bark layer. Undamaged plants will show a green layer, while injured plants will show a brown or black layer. Prune the plant’s wood below the discoloration.
Wait several days after a freeze to see if your fruit plants have been damaged by the cold temperatures. Remove several buds from a flowering tree, and use a sharp knife or razor blade to cut a cross section of the bud’s top. If there is any discoloration in the bud, the bud has been damaged and will not produce fruit. Check several buds from different areas of the plant or tree to see if the damage is localized to only one area or not.
By following these guidelines, you'll give your landscape a fighting chance against the freeze. And even if some plants are lost to the cold, remember that gardening is an ongoing experiment and a freeze may offer us opportunities to introduce new life into our yards each season.