Happy New Year! It looks like we might get our first hard freeze this week. So be ready to take care of the usual; pets, pipes and plants.

Many plants still have tender growth, thanks to our unusually warm winter thus far. Not much can be done to protect that growth if we have a hard freeze, but the rest of the plant is also juicy and not hardened off for winter. So, if you have plants that normally do well in a freeze but currently have tender growth, treat them like you would any marginally hardy perennial: cover, mulch, water.

Covering plants with tender growth is recommended. It may or may not protect that young foliage, but it will, in most cases, protect the majority of the plant. If the new growth is at the base of perennials that have not been cut back yet, do not cut them back now. Just cover the entire plant. Make sure the cloth extends all the way to the ground, the protection comes from the cover trapping the radiant heat from the ground, so it will not be effective if the plants are lollipopped around the base.

Mulching helps to protect the root systems of the plants. This is especially important when we have extended periods of below freezing temperatures. Hopefully we are not looking at that type of freeze. If you decide to run out and mulch, do not cut back your perennials first. They need a good freezing zap before pruning, and the old, unsightly foliage will help to hold up the freeze cloth.

Watering the ground the day before a freeze will help to protect the roots of the plants. If your water restrictions allow, run the irrigation once before the freeze sets in. Then, shut the system off. Icy wonderlands are pretty but they can damage pipes and plants so be sure the irrigation does not run once we hit freezing temperatures.

Then get inside and stay cozy!