How do I know if I need to protect my plants or not?
| Posted in Southwest Gardening on
I just moved to Tucson last year and finally have a space for plants/trees. How do I know if I need to cover them for cold weather? I have a 5gallon lemon tree in pot and a fire stick cactus in pot, lavender in 10gallon pot, along with some palms in a garden bed.
Replies
Welcome to Tucson! It can depend a bit on what plants you have and what part of town you are in. Most southwestern cities have their cold areas where colder air drains down the washes, and their thermal belts above those areas, where temps can be as much as 10 degrees warmer. See if you can determine where you fall in that continuum.
Generally speaking, lavenders will be fine in Tucson winters. Lemon trees are quite tough but a hard freeze at 24 or so could do damage, so you could either cover it on cool nights or move it to a protected spot for a couple months while the threat lingers. Fire sticks can have tips frosted so best with some protection. Our most common palms are quite tough, but it depends on what kind you have. Mexican, Mediterranean and California fan palms are the toughest here. Do you know what yours are?