January 24 , 2013
Why plants freeze|Greg Grant vegetables
My crinums do n’t look so hot right now .
No trouble : I simply cut off their mushy leave and they ’ll rebound pronto . Although things have been rather tame this wintertime , we ’ve had our little cold spells . The top question go to Daphne this week : Why do plants freeze and what will generate ?
This annualSalvia coccineais gone for in force , unless it re - source in ego - name positioning !
Microclimates , flora DNA , maturity , and temperature all make a difference of opinion . As we approach the last frost particular date , I ’ll cut back my Pride of Barbados in readiness for fresh outgrowth .
Here ’s how Daphne explains what come about , per Dr. Jerry Parsons , retired Extension factor : “ fulfill a ice half - full with water and put it in your deep-freeze . Take it out the next day , once it ’s thoroughly frozen , and immediately place it under a warm stream of tap water and watch what happens . ”
As Daphne say , I bet you ’ve already got it : the trash will shatter . That ’s what come about to establish cell as they melt out when temperatures warm up . Some works just mislay their leaves , like this lantana .
Others mislay their life , like this recurrent salvia ‘ Anthony Parker ’ .
But get this : just 8 ’ away in the same bed , this one was all right !
Since veggie contain lots of water , a simple-minded cover on freezing nights usually does the whoremonger . Check out my neighbor ’s basketball to elevate her rowing cover . They ’re just plain old PVC pipes , wanton to bend , but she doctored them up with a bit of atomizer rouge !
If you ’re grow ‘ Gold Star ’ esperanza — a root - dauntless perennial — you’re able to thank horticulturist Greg Grant . His many donation to our garden and our libraries , likeHeirloom Gardening in the South(with Dr. William C. Welch ) , have yet another .
This go - to guide , write in Greg ’s “ here ya go ” style , deciphers necessity from soil to planting times , refinement , and starting and preserve seeds . Arugula to winter squash , addict , berries , and yield Tree : it ’s all here , including mouth - watering Grant syndicate recipes .
Greg unite Tom this weekfor some tried and true and true gratuity to get you growing .
He made the trip from Nacogdoches , where he ’s a horticulturist at the Pineywoods Native Plant Center at Stephen F. Austin University .
And note your calendar right now for April 20,to nab single SFA and Greg Grant introduction , Texas natives , perennial and more at the celebrated SFA Gardens annual Garden Gala at Stephen F. Austin . It ’s only from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m , so grab your Charles’s Wain and get there early ! It ’s also a wonderful time to see the beautiful gardens .
Visit www.sfagardens.sfasu.edu and chatter on “ garden issue ” for a listing of usable plants !
Another new Grant handout fromTexas Gardener magazinepulls together 10 years of his philosophic , humourous , and botanical insights from the magazine . Now in hardback , it ’s also usable as an e - book .
On tour , first - time nurseryman Ellie Hanlon teaches us a few things , too !
On her blog , Mostly Weeds , stick to her footstep - by - whole tone cognitive operation from Day 1 to irrigation how - to , including her threefold valve system and fertilizer . When she first put up her garden , Austin ’s water restrictions need a discrepancy ( that she post on her fencing ) for vegetable . With a film of a valve , she could twist off the drip system to her flowers .
To fertilize both vegetables and ornamentals , Trisha demonstrates how to make compost tea , along with a trick using recycle nursery containers to tardily distribute it and constitutive granulars .
Thanks for stop by ! See you next week , Linda
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