Yes, that’s right our first hard freeze of the winter is just a few days away, forecast to hit Sunday night / Monday morning with lows in the 20s. And, it’s not just one night but expected to last 3-4 nights of hard freezing weather. But don’t panic.
Most plants that we have in North Texas are winter hardy to zones 7a/b and should be fine, though they might go dormant. Summer perennials such as lantanas will die back to the ground, but they’ll be back next year. Summer and fall annuals that are not freeze hardy will die back, but that’s perfectly normal. Fall and winter annuals such as pansies, dianthus, and decorative kale will be just fine.
For your sensitive perennial plants, those that are not particularly freeze hardy, there are a number of things that you can do. The first is, Sunday afternoon before the freeze hits that night, water all of your plants very deeply. Liquid water is one of the best safeguards against freezing weather. The second thing you can do is place frost cloth over the plant. Take care not to damage the foliage. We recommend using a stake to form a kind of teepee or tent over the plant using frost cloth. This helps retain the warmth from the earth and, along with deep watering, will keep your plant from freezing if it is susceptible to cold temperatures.
Any potted plants MUST be brought inside unless they are VERY cold hardy. This is because potted plants do not have the advantage of retaining warmth from the earth and will lose heat much faster by being above ground. Move your potted plants into the garage, into the house, somewhere where the root ball in the pot will not become frozen. Do remember to water them deeply as well, especially if you are bringing them inside the house. The humidity inside your house is almost always drier than the air outside and can literally suck the water out of your potted plants through evapotranspiration leaving them much thirstier than when they were outside.
Finally, we get questions about irrigation systems. By and large, you don’t need to worry about your irrigation or sprinkler system. If you have a rain/freeze sensor, or an internet connected smart system, the system will shut off automatically. You don’t need to worry about blowing out water from the lines here in North Texas. The freezes we get don’t penetrate the soil to a depth that will run any risk of freezing the water in your system. Even just a couple of inches of dirt provides more than enough insulation for your sprinkler system. However, if you are still concerned you can turn off the main line water supply and then run each zone to allow the water to drain out of the system. Here in North Texas that is usually more than sufficient to prevent any freeze damage to your irrigation system.
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