Thermometer, weather app help to anticipate winter freezes

I anticipation it ne'er freezes during the winter. But I’m astir apt wrong.

Some winters ne'er spot freezing temperatures but volition acquisition temperatures adjacent freezing immoderate clip during November, December, January, February and adjacent aboriginal March. Some winters acquisition airy freezing temperatures erstwhile oregon respective times during that play but usually successful precocious December and January oregon aboriginal February.

Tropical plants similar bougainvillea, basil, tomato, lantana, limes, naval saccharine oranges are damaged oregon killed astatine these temperatures.

Plants nutrient a batch of flowers implicit a two- to three-week period. A one-time, airy frost whitethorn effect successful a airy effect crop. Two oregon 3 freezes successful a row, implicit a play of a fewer weeks, could mean zero effect production.

Though the works whitethorn tolerate a airy freeze, nary of the exposed angiosperm buds will. New growth, whether it’s angiosperm buds oregon young caller leaves and stems, whitethorn dice if temperatures dip beneath freezing for adjacent conscionable a fewer minutes.

Some winters we acquisition a hard freeze: 27 degrees oregon lower. The astir cold-hardy citrus — kumquat, Meyer lemon, grapefruit and satsuma orangish — amusement nary harm astatine these temperatures successful protected locations. But different citrus, specified arsenic saccharine oranges and limes, are damaged.

A mean wintertime experiences a progression of acold temperatures starting successful aboriginal November and ending successful precocious February oregon aboriginal March. That’s what astir works parts expect, and that’s what they are champion suited to handle.

The works parts that are astir damaged by freezing temperatures are unfastened flowers, angiosperm buds, caller maturation and their roots. When freezing temperatures hap aboriginal oregon precocious is erstwhile freezing temperatures are astir damaging to exposed works parts. Plants are not expecting mean debased temperatures astatine this clip of twelvemonth and are not prepared for them.

Having a signaling maximum/minimum thermometer and having the upwind app prepares you for anticipating wintertime freezes. If you haven’t bought a recording, maximum/minimum thermometer for your backyard ($10-$20), get 1 precise soon.

Hang it histrion tallness successful the windiest determination successful the gait and cheque it each fewer days during these months. The handiest ones grounds debased temperatures respective days successful a enactment earlier the temperatures are wiped out.

Download a upwind app to your telephone oregon laptop. Look astatine 10-day somesthesia and upwind arsenic temperatures attack freezing. These upwind apps are mostly close and approximate erstwhile to expect freezing temperatures and windy weather. They are precise useful for anticipating lukewarm and windless days to marque those dormant lipid applications and erstwhile to support wintertime tender plants.

There is nary request to wrapper oregon support freezing tender plants if your predictions are that they won’t freeze. But if that week looks similar precise debased temperatures, it is worthy it to support tender plants for the full week. The lowest temperatures are usually conscionable earlier daybreak.

Q: Are you offering pruning classes this twelvemonth astatine the Ahern Orchard?

A: Ahern was benignant capable to let maine to behaviour pruning classes again this twelvemonth astatine the orchard. All classes commencement astatine 9 a.m. and usually are Fridays, but for 1 today. Bring your loppers and manus pruners and expect to prune astatine slightest 1 tree. Classes are advertised connected my blog and Facebook page. All classes are $20 per person. Class sizes are kept tiny to beforehand individualized teaching.

Peach histrion pruning is offered today. On Jan. 7, I volition connection pome and pear pruning. On Jan. 14, it volition beryllium pomegranate, jujube and persimmon. Jan. 21 volition beryllium devoted wholly to the pruning of grapes. And connected Jan. 28, I volition sermon however to use fertilizers including robust to effect trees.

I person grouped effect trees unneurotic that necessitate akin pruning techniques. At the opening of each class, we volition adjust, sharpen and sanitize each pruning equipment. Please bring look masks to people and delight societal distance. None of the pruning instrumentality volition beryllium shared unless sanitized thoroughly.

Q: I calculated that our young saccharine bay laurel trees would usage astir 7,000 gallons of h2o each year. You said a 20-foot histrion mightiness necessitate 9,000 to 10,000 gallons each year. My calculations produced a fig of 44.9 gallons of h2o per week for each histrion during the winter.

A: You mightiness beryllium close with your calculations. The lone mode of knowing for definite is to effort it, marque immoderate adjustments and spot what happens.

Just marque definite that the applied h2o wets the ungraded heavy capable for the trees, that it is applied to a ample capable country nether the histrion canopy truthful basal maturation stabilizes the histrion and that the trees person h2o again erstwhile the ungraded moisture is moving out. Water discarded occurs erstwhile h2o is applied erstwhile plants don’t request it.

I usage 2 instruments and my eyes to justice when, wherever and however overmuch h2o to apply. The archetypal is applying h2o heavy enough. To justice this, I usage a bladed agelong portion of alloy similar a instrumentality of bladed rebar. Immediately aft an irrigation, I propulsion this portion of alloy successful the ungraded successful respective locations to justice however heavy the h2o gets. In the lawsuit of saccharine bay laurel, I sprout for 18 to 24 inches deep.

Next, I validate that the applied h2o is wetting roots that inhabit astatine slightest fractional the country nether their canopy. As the histrion canopy gets larger, much emitters are added. Increasing the size of the country wetted increases the h2o applied to the histrion so, usually, the fig of minutes connected the timepiece doesn’t change.

Lastly, I usage my eyes to validate that h2o is applied to astatine slightest fractional the canopy area. If it’s smaller than this, past I summation the wetted area. The benignant of irrigation utilized depends connected tons of things including my level of comfortableness with the exertion and cost.

But if plants are unneurotic oregon successful rows, I favour drip tubing with embedded drip emitters. If plants are successful isolated areas and acold apart, past I favour autarkic drip emitters. High-pressure bubblers bash a bully job, but the aforesaid 3 principles clasp existent of them too.

The pursuing increasing play I observe the works information (presence of leafage scorch during blistery months and magnitude of caller growth) and set the timepiece oregon irrigation. Plants volition archer you if they are getting excessively overmuch oregon excessively small h2o if you observe them.

Q: When is the champion clip to regenerate grass?

A: You person beauteous overmuch missed it for this year. You are amended disconnected waiting for warmer upwind successful aboriginal spring.

It depends connected the grass, whether it’s a cool-season benignant oregon a warm-season type. About 95 percent of each of the tract writer sold is simply a cool-season benignant specified arsenic the gangly fescue.

The champion clip to works writer is either successful the autumn oregon the outpouring astatine the aforesaid clip you would prime to works astir scenery plants. To enactment it into months, this would beryllium from precocious September done mid-November astir years. If you are electing to commencement a tract writer from seed, past October is the champion period to works writer effect followed by precocious February oregon March successful 2nd place.

Hybrid Bermuda writer oregon immoderate of the warm-season grasses specified arsenic zoysia, buffalo writer and St. Augustine are champion planted successful aboriginal summer, nary aboriginal than July 1. Because warm-season grasses request lukewarm upwind for champion basal and apical maturation and a fewer weeks to get established aft planting, it’s champion to commencement them astatine this clip alternatively than later.

Figure that warm-season grasses statesman slowing their maturation successful precocious September and October arsenic temperatures statesman cooling. They request astir 2 months of coagulated maturation earlier they commencement slowing down. It definite helps to person a upwind app connected your telephone to marque the champion determination possible.

Bob Morris is simply a horticulture adept and prof emeritus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Visit his blog astatine xtremehorticulture.blogspot.com. Send questions to Extremehort@aol.com.