Hope Freezing Temperatures are Over. Plan That They are Not.

This has not been unusual weather. It’s the norm. But watch out! About eight or nine years out of ten we get a warming trend in mid-January followed by returning cold weather. Sometimes it is devastating.

            February can be dangerous for plants. December 1990 was one of the coldest months on record but February 1989 was much more damaging to plants. 

            In December plants are in their deepest sleep, well-prepared for winter lows. But on February 5, 1989, unrecorded temperatures as low as 2F in the Northwest part of the valley came on the heals of 70+F temperatures in mid-January. The temperatures that week in February were low enough to kill bermudagrass, roots and all, at the Painted Desert Golf Course in the Northwest part of the valley.

            Be diligent around your garden. Protect tender plants. We can be 95% assured that freezing temperatures will not occur after mid-March.