Vegetation hard freeze protection

[tstex]

Hello to all and HNY.

It's been awhile since i've been on the forum, but hope everyone is doing well and healthy.

It's going to be 20 degrees next week w another 25 & 28 lows...the highs range from 38 to 45.

Have a lot of variegated ginger, birds of paradise, variegated fax lily and foxtail ferns and society garlic, all susceptible to hard freezes. I was going to pull all of the extra sheets and go buy some 10ft x 20ft 6ml thick clear plastic rolls.

My plan was to first lay down some incandescent CHRISTmas lights, then the sheets, then the plastic. Do this 2 days before the heavy frosts, and when the winds are not blowing 25-30MPH. Has anyone else done something that has preserved their plants or more than likely, limit the frost damage?

thank you very much for your feedback,
tstex

 

[DJ54]

Not sure how available they are to you there, but I use leaves. Pile them up 10" - 12" over top of the plant. Insulates very well. Easy to pull off come Spring with a pitchfork. You can place it around plants for mulch if you want. Here earthworms & nightcrawlers feed on them if deep enough through the winter leaving castings a great natural fertilizer.

 

[big bubba]

welcome to climate change extremes. hope you can find a solution. my experience is that the conventional zone system for plant species no longer applies. my nut trees rated zone 5 (i'm in 7) were wiped out in last year's polar vortex. sorry i can't help more, just saying between droughts, flooding, extreme heat & cold swings, it's a hustle to keep things alive.
good luck in finding your method

 

[KennyG]

Leaves are a good idea. I have hardy figs and am at the northern limit. I put a little fence around them and fill it with leaves and they come through the winter fine.

 

[Williy]

If you can find a lot of grass clippings or straw/ If your going to put
like a tarp or something like that you need to keep it above not touching
the plants so they don't freeze
Perhaps they have a place in town where people can drop off their leaves?

willy

 

[tstex]

Thanks guys....We had about a 65-70% success rate, which would have been higher if the damn winds didn't gust up to 35-40MPH...that was the killer. We had 5-10lb rocks holding the sides down and those stones were tossed like pebbles. I pulled lg 40-50lb flagstone walking pavers and that finally stabilized it. But I had to put a lot more of them per linear ft than i anticiapted. It's the high winds that wreaked havoc...HNY & thanks again tstex

And Big B in ARK, really sorry about your nut trees...that's just devastating. Had a guy here in Colorado Cty TX that planted 20 acres of olive trees. The yr they started producing in 2017, had the polar vortex down to 2-4F and he lost all but the ones closets to his fires. He would have needed 50 cords of wood generate the required heat load....now he just has 100s of stumps

 

[JCoastie]

we tried the xmas lights here in AL last year when we had extended freezing temps in the mid to upper 20s. It didn't work, garden vegatables still froze. It helped for quick freezes, but nothing extended.

 

[tstex]

we tried the xmas lights here in AL last year when we had extended freezing temps in the mid to upper 20s. It didn't work, garden vegatables still froze. It helped for quick freezes, but nothing extended.

Yes, you put down the lights, sheets and 6ml plastic, but plastic had to stay down so heat can be retained. If I had the leaves, I Would have put them down first. BUt w out winds protection, they'd be in S America by now...on the RIO Beach

 

[JCoastie]

we did lights and both plastic and a frost blanket held in place with a frame and bricks. The frost blanket ripped in the wind, the plastic survived, but the plants didn't. It was the first extended freeze we've had in the 13 years we've been here. It was below freezing for more than 24 hours which is pretty rare in this area.

 

[Jstpssng]

Straw will accomplish the same as leaves or grass clippings, but you generally have to pay for it.