First Freeze of Winter is a rest and renewal for the landscape, make sure yours is ready!
This year’s first real freeze of the season for South Central Texas arrived much like they all do…on the heels of an unseasonably warm day when flowers and shrubs are still in bloom. But with Saturday’s deep freeze that was sustained for many hours into Sunday and will repeat again tonight comes a time of much needed rest for the landscape. Just like us…plants need some downtime to thrive and good landscape practices help them do just that.
The deeply cold winter weather is very much a part of the yearlong cycle of growth that is needed for both native and adapted plants in this area. Just as the deciduous trees need the shortened hours of daylight to shed old leaves, other plants need the freezing temperatures to begin the rest time of the cold season to be ready to spring to life when it warms up again. Many perennial plants will freeze to the ground and stay that way until spring arrives. Evergreen shrubs and trees will retain their foliage but will stop adding new growth. This is the best time of year to cut back perennials and shape up evergreens. It’s also a good time to make sure they are well mulched which helps them to maintain optimum health during cold weather.
The freezing temps are a necessary part of the life cycle of many of our areas fruit trees. Without a certain amount of cold days (below 42 degrees) peach trees in particular produce less fruit. Fruit and nut trees along with other trees in the landscape all benefit from being heavily mulched all year long but in the winter, it will help their root systems during freezing temperatures especially.
Call NativeScapes today and let us help you get your landscape prepared for a long winter rest. Along with cutting back plants, trimming and re-mulching now is also a great time to top off granite walkways, add river rock to drainage areas and plan new patios and walkways.