Freeze Tips

Stay ahead of the freeze—and protect your plants! 

Nature often handles cold snaps better than we expect, but a little preparation can go a long way!

Here are a few tips:

• Moving large pots to warmer areas (against the house or in a garage)

• Covering tender plants like agapanthus with freeze cloth

• Protecting in-ground tropicals with freeze cloth (while we can’t guarantee protection, it will help)

• Draining all irrigation lines:

  • To prep for cold weather, turn the valve that feeds the irrigation system/into PVB to off position. Then use the manual advance button on controller, manual advance each zone for 2 minutes, then turn controller off.

  • On the back flow turn each valve to 45 degree angle, then apply foam wrap to both pipes and the actual PVB itself.

• Wrapping outdoor pipes

• Ensuring your garden is well-hydrated

  • If freezing temperatures are in the forecast, make sure to thoroughly water plants in dry soil well in advance of the cold. This is especially important for container-grown plants, but it’s also helpful for shrubs in landscape beds.

  • Mulch: Apply a layer of mulch around the base of your plants to insulate the soil and retain moisture. You can also cover low-growing plants with 4–6 inches of mulch.

Citrus Tree Freeze Tips: 

All ripe fruit should be harvested from trees prior to a significant freeze event. Temperatures cold enough to damage the tree will also ruin the fruit. It takes temperatures in the mid- to low 20s five to 10 hours to freeze the fruit.

More info from LSU AgCenter

To protect a single smaller tree, construct a simple frame over trees and encase the tree with one or two layers of translucent plastic. This is generally most practical for smaller trees. In southeast Louisiana, such an extreme practice would be needed only on a few severely cold nights.

Before covering, the tree could be generously draped and wrapped with small, outdoor incandescent Christmas lights to provide additional warmth and increase the level of protection. Incandescent Christmas lights will not damage the tree even if they come into contact with it.

Palm Freeze Tips:

Palm Trunk and Foliage Wrapping - Trunk and foliage wrapping is another great palm winterizing technique if you have a palm with a central trunk. It’s best to use a material that does NOT absorb moister like synthetic blanket, burlap or a landscape fabric.

Before wrapping the tree, spray the area being wrapped with fungicide/bactericide spray. Next, wrap the material around the trunk and secure it with duct tape.

Continue to wrap up around the lower leaves while gathering the leaves closer and closer into a bunch. Wrap as high as the stiffness of the leaves will allow. Don't worry, the foliage is not going to be damaged. To minimize the fungal and bacterial problems, place sticks around the trunk before wrapping it so that the wrap does not touch the trunk. Click here for Care for Freeze Damaged Palms.