Posted on 12/26/2008 4:35:30 PM PST by hsmomx3
Okay, I need some professional opinions here.
We are going to have below freezing temps. in North Phoenix tonight and since it is so windy, are there any alternatives to covering plants/shrubs?
Putting a cover over these items is useless since the wind is a factor.
Any suggestions would be most helpful.
Maybe that is all we can do, too.
another use for those binder clips, thank you
live in south chandler, az. i have some bougainvilleas that i wish would go away, those boogers have thorns.
Well, what you’re trying to do is keep frost off the foliage, one way or the other. Wind usually does that, if it’s a steady wind. Plantings that are sheltered from that wind, say on the side facing away from the direction of the wind, might still be at risk. That frost has to come from somewhere, and in a typically dry climate such as yours, I’d think widespread, saturated ground would provide the moisture to create it.
Good luck with whatever you decide to do. I’ve lost a beautiful mandevilla to frost before, it’s discouraging, I know.
I’m in Vegas (which gave me 4 inches of snow last week) so I know of which I speak. We have very similar climates normally and very similar species of flora and fawna.
Don’t water. Anything which is wet will freeze. Anything which freezes will die. Moisture is your enemy. Do not water until the freezing it over.
You want to cover any landscaping or irrigation pipes which are above ground. That is your most likely victim of freezing. The water in the pipes will freeze, shrink and pull the gaskets out which causes non-stop overflowing (which could then freeze if it stays cold long enough). Trust me, I’ve seen people with four inches of ice covering their ENTIRE YARD in Las Vegas because their irrigation pipes broke and flooded their yard which then froze into an icerink. You DO NOT want water on the ground or on any plant.
If you have delicate plants, those you can cover. Growers down south in Marana used burlap in the past but now have been synthetic fabrics which are cheaper. Freezing kills fruit. Anything which you need to bear fruit and is in the process of doing so will drop its fruit.
Palm trees, no problem. Mesquite, no problem. Palo Verde, no problem. Most trees, no problem. Leaves will die and fall off but one single freeze won’t do any long term damage.
You need to protect your water lines more than your plants. I spent lots and lots of time just south of your current position and I weathered lots of below freezing winters in the mountains. Nothing overly special was ever needed. Plants take the cold better than people do.
Just make sure you don’t have animals outside who aren’t covered, sheltered well.
Over them and anchor the cover(s) with BIG rocks.
Beyond that Mrs.SR claims that I could kill an artificial plant.
Depends on how long it stays in the 20s. The wind really plays no significant role. Throw sheets over the plants and tie it at the base with twine or anchor the corners with something heavy.
“Anything which is wet will freeze. Anything which freezes will die. “
Baloney. The ice acts as an insulator that keeps the temperature near 32 deg. Ice is used all throughout the south to insulate fruit crops.
If your ornamental trees die, then it is time to replace with EDIBLE LANDSCAPING. Edible landscaping brings you closer to self sufficiency and economic protest. Besides, can you trust your food supply?
Interesting answers, from one end of the spectrum to the other!
Don’t know about jacaranda, but if it gets down to 20, your ficus is probably toast. :( Live on the easternmost coast of NC, and we lost some in this area a few weeks ago, course, we know this is a temp variable place, and we allow for it. They’re mostly houseplants here. If your ficus is moveable, do it. They lose their leaves if a cloud passes over the sun, so I can’t imagine it would survive 20 and wind, altho the wind may help the frost from settling. Covering them/ misting are both good ideas if you can do it. If you use the plastic bags, make sure you uncover them before too late in the day—as soon as you can when it warms up—or you’ll cook them. Sometimes, if the plants get frosted, spraying the frost off before the sun hits them will help keep the leaves from burning.
Good luck.
20 degrees? Yowzah!
I lived there (Metro Center area) for 7 years and we never did anything special for our trees...we also never really had weather that was that cold.
I believe the earlier poster is right concerning the wind keeping your trees frost-free. I’d leave stuff be and ride out the cold snap.
We had snow here in Sierra Vista this evening. My fig tree will probably lose its last few leaves tonight.
It is 28 degrees in my backyard this morning.
I was able to cover the ficus but not the jacaranda. The winds died down which I discovered about 1AM.
I guess we will experience freezing temps. again tonight as per the weather forecasters.
large part myth in that. Ice actually doesn’t stay at 32. It may start at 32 but anything frozen gets colder as the outside temperature gets colder.
Actually, growers cover their fruit trees to avoid this from happening because the ice freezes the fruit and that fruit is dead. You can’t sell frozen fruit unless it was already harvested. Of course, typically you don’t have fruit on your trees in December so it’s not a big worry.
In Florida, they will do anything to keep the trees from freezing if there is a late chill. They actually put parafin fire cans under each tree to try to keep the temperature up. Frozen fruit is no joke when you only get one harvest a year.
I have planted edible trees. Now I have to axe the ornamental ones to give them space
Mango banana oranges lime
Hey you again. Its me again. What an advantage to live in the sunbelt (Phoenix?), that you may enjoy tropical fruits. Do you know anything about gardening in the higher elevations of Arizona? I am from there. Been gone a long time. But if I sell my farm here, I intend to relocate back to Arizona. I wonder if anyone has had success growing blueberries in Arizona? Also, if a person wants to acidify the soil, do they add sulfer? Here we add lime to sweeten the soil. I am going to have to learn how to garden all over again if I can relocate.
I'm in FL
Soil is very aggravating to work with because it's sand with no clay at all to hold minerals etc
The higher elevations in Arizona/New Mexico are beautiful. I saw them with all the pine trees
They call it a New England type of forest and climate and terrain.
Climate and growing season must be roughly like in New York City
But sun is more intense due to elevation. So growing under glass during cold months works out better
I would have to read up on whether precipitation there is all year round or weather you have wet season and dry season
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.