Hard freeze alert (protect those plants, pipes and pets)

Categories:

• freeze,
• pets,
• plants

Plants

• If you have plants in pots, bring them indoors overnight. A warm garage or foyer can also protect them from frost damage.

• Cover your trees, shrubs, container gardens or other sensitive plants with sheets, blankets and/or burlap. This helps keep warm air from the ground around the plant. (We use clothespins to pin sheets together and completely cover our small citrus tree all the way to the ground. We also use rocks and bricks to hold the sheets down on the ground in case of high winds.)

• Never put plastic directly on the plant growth since it will allow the frost to damage the plant where the plastic is touching it. If you want to use plastic sheeting on top of your sheet or blanket it will add an additional layer of protection and warmth.

• Consider picking any citrus (esp exposed fruit) since prolonged hard freezes will damage or destroy it.

• If you still have Christmas lights wrapped around trees and shrubs, turn them on for a little extra heat.

• Water your plants, trees and shrubs to add some extra heat to the ground for protection.

Pipes

• Cover any pipes exposed to the elements with a blanket, large towels or foam. And cover your hose bibs too (we duct tape old towels on ours.)

• Before you go to bed, open your kitchen and bathroom sink cabinets (to circulate warm air around pipes) and leave a drip going to relieve pressure that freezing water will cause in pipes.

• If you have a pool, it’s recommended you make sure filters are clean and run it overnight so those pipes won’t freeze.

Pets

• Try to keep them indoors, especially puppies and kittens. The Arizona Humane Society says their bodies are not developed enough to protect them from the cold.

• If your pet or large animals have to remain outside, make sure they have adequate shelter from the wind and cold, give them extra blankets and keep their bedding dry.

• Water dishes and troughs might freeze so check on them each morning during hard freezes and make sure your critters have adequate food.

Stay safe and warm … and add any other hard freeze tips here in case I’m forgetting some!