HOUSTON — Houston is thawing out from the brutally cold weather and we'll have warmer temperatures for a couple of days before the next freeze this weekend.
So, you may be wondering what to do about all those plants you wrapped in old school bed sheets or frost cloth? Do you unwrap them for now or just leave them covered up for a few more days?
We went to the experts at the Houston Botanic Garden. They have all kinds of exotic and delicate plants to protect.
Their horticulture experts say most of us can take it easy and just leave the cloth coverings alone. If you used plastic, it's a different story.
“For those people who've used plastic to cover plants, tomorrow it might be better to uncover it in the middle of the day, when it gets warmest," Horticulture Director Fran De La Mota advises. “Frost cloth or bedsheets, those are breathable even if it warms up a little bit, you’re not going to overheat the plant or create moldy conditions under the covering. With plastic that can be a little more tricky if it gets really warm.”
If you see dead, mushy foliage in the yard, just leave it alone. That protects the live plant beneath it. Our warm earth here in Houston allows lots of plants to grow back after a hard freeze.
If you prune now, new growth will be vulnerable to any subsequent freezes this winter.
So the bottom line from horticulture experts? Most of us are excused from yard work for now!