During the spring our potting bar will be open every Wednesday 10am-12.
Do I need to bring my own pot?
You can bring your own pot or choose from our wide selection at the nursery.
Cost:
You purchase the plants and pot of your choice. Our premium potting soil mix is free to use as long as the potting bar is open!.Please keep track of the container labels by taking a picture of it before covering with soil or plants, and keep the pots the plants came out of for easy check when your done.
Send us a picture of what you created we would love to see!!!
Palm tree owners that live in the warm climates don’t need to worry about cold weather, but with unpredictable winters in the last couple of years, freezing temperatures don’t come as a surprise to us.
Palm species vary greatly in their sensitivity to cold. Some types of palms can tolerate cold temperatures down to 10 – 15F for a short period of time, while others gets damaged when the temperatures drop below 45F. Cold tolerance of the palm also depends on summer care, plant age, and time of establishment. If you are trying to figure out what is the lowest temperature your palm can survive at, start by checking cold tolerant for this particular species.
Cold weather can affect palm trees in different ways. Cold temperatures will slow down the root activity and growth rate of the palm.
Freeze or frost can damage the palm tissue in the trunk, which may limit the ability of the palm to provide leaves with enough water. Unfortunately, palm trees can’t regenerate conducting tissue and will likely die after a while. If the bud, also called “palm heart”, gets damaged, the palm will not survive.
Before we talk about different cold protection options, it’s important to understand that a little bit of cold weather is actually good for the palms, because it promotes dormancy and also makes palms more cold tolerant (cold hardy). If there is no sudden temperature drop, let the palms acclimatize a little to the colder conditions. The goal is to protect the most important part of the palm which is the bud and to minimize the damage to the leaves and stems in case of an unexpected freeze.
Palm fertilization – Palm tissue deficient in nutrients is less cold tolerant. That is why it is important for the palm tree to receive right amount of fertilizer in the months leading up to the period of cold weather. Fertilization improves cold hardiness of palms. Of course, the fertilization schedule will depend on where you live and the length of your growing season. I recommend using a slow-release good quality fertilizer that has the same amount or close of Nitrogen (N) and Potassium (K). You will know the ratio by looking at the three numbers on the label (NPK): 15-5-15 or 20-15-15.
Small Heater or string Christmas Light – For severe freezes or prolonged temperatures below freezing, providing a heat source under the cover improves protection. One of the safest and easiest methods I’ve come across is to wrap or drape the plant with strings of small outdoor Christmas lights. Not enough heat is generated to damage the plant, but what heat is given off by the small bulbs can make a big difference in the survival of a plant. Just make sure you use outdoor extension cords!
Palm Trunk and Foliage Wrapping – Trunk and foliage wrapping is another great palm winterizing technique if you have a palm with a central trunk. Again, it’s best to use a material that does NOT absorb moister like synthetic blanket, burlap or a landscape fabric.
Before wrapping the tree, spray the area being wrapped with fungicide/bactericide spray. Next, wrap the material around the trunk and secure it with duck tape.
Continue to wrap up around the lower leaves while gathering the leaves closer and closer into a bunch. Wrap as high as the stiffness of the leaves will allow. Don’t worry, the foliage is not going to be damaged. To minimize the fungal and bacterial problems, place sticks around the trunk before wrapping it so that the wrap does not touch the trunk.
Warm Cover – During cold days, it is a good idea to cover your palm. If your palm tree is small, you can cover it with a weighted down box or a blanket. On sunny days, partially open a box to avoid air heating up to damaging temperatures inside.
This can happen even with the outside temperatures being below freezing. Don’t let the tree sit under the cover for more than 3 days in a row. After 3 days, uncover your palm during the day to provide it with some light.
For a larger palm, use a blanket, burlap or other warm material. Avoid using water-absorbent cotton type of materials since they trap moisture resulting in the trunk rot. When placing the blanket over the tree, allow for the cover to drape loosely so that warm air rising from the soil will be trapped under the cover. This will keep your palm 4-5 degrees warmer than the outside air.
Temporary Greenhouse – If you have a lot of time and energy, you can build a temporary greenhouse around your palm. Build a wooden frame above the tree and cover it with double plastic sheet nailing it to the frame. Adding a supplementary heat to the greenhouse will add two or even more full USDA zones to your garden. This is the most involved method that will allow you to grow palm trees almost anywhere. Of course, the greenhouse structure has to be strong enough to withstand strong winds, and freezing rain.
Heavy Mulching and watering – Heavy mulching is the most effective way to minimize leaf damage and maximizing tree survival. You are probably already applying mulch all year round, but during winter mulch your palm more heavily. Adding 4-6 inches of mulch will protect ground from freezing deeply, thus protecting roots and lower trunk of the tree.
While mulching will prevent roots from freezing, it won’t help with the water uptake that gets dramatically reduced once the temperatures falls below 40°F (5°C). Adding to the stress, cold winter winds in combination with the afternoon sun cause winterburn and defoliation of the palm.
To maximize water availability to the leaves, make sure the palm is well-watered entering winter season and the soil is saturated throughout the winter. Since moist soil loses heat less rapidly than dry soil, water heavily the soil around the palm prior to a cold snap.
Antitranspirant Spray – Another way to reduce water loss from the leaves is to use antitranspirant spray. It forms a soft, clear, flexible film on the plant’s foliage which holds moisture reducing water loss during plant stress. You will only need to spray it once per season. It will also extend the life of Christmas tree by preventing it from drying out too quickly.
Copper Spray – Stressed by cold temperatures, palm trees can become vulnerable to bacterial and fungal infections. The low levels of bacteria present on healthy palm tissue are harmless but becomes a problem once the palm has been damaged by cold.
That is why it is a good idea to spray the tree with fungicidal copper before the freezing temperatures in order to reduced the amount of bacteria to the lowest levels possible.
Most of us need a lot of help in this area alone for tips & inspirations. Nothing brightens up the exterior of your house faster and for less money than a window box! Bonus points if you can view the window box from indoors as well. Add color, charm and curb appeal by adding a window box.
The above is another great examples of using just a few colors in the flowers planters. Shades of purple, white and of course various shades of green as well. Window boxes are treated like an actual architecture piece to the home, and are a great way to add to the curb appeal of your home.
The flower planters truly frame the windows of the house and exterior entry way of any home. Your yard can look a little shabby, but if you have pops of color and big statement pieces on each side of your door, one’s eye will automatically go to those flower container statement pieces.
You can take two galvanized tubs and add them as a unconventional window box. Fill with your favorite herbs!
Severe freezes struck a hard blow to some area landscapes earlier this month. Damage to tropical plants was fairly extensive, and now it is about what to do next.
At this point, it is time to assess the effects of the freezes.
Damage almost always occurs to plants that are covered when temperatures reach the low 20s or teens. For plants growing in the ground, cold protection is done to preserve the plant’s life — not to bring it through winter without harm.
To maximize protection, make sure the cover extends all the way to the ground and is sealed. Multiple layers provide better protection than a single layer.
For best results, provide heat under the cover when temperatures reach the low 20s or teens. This is easily done by generously draping small, incandescent outdoor Christmas lights under the cover.
After the freeze, a damaged plant’s living parts can recover during the summer. So the damage does not mean the covers were a waste of time.
And be sure to protect even the damaged tropicals should we have additional freezes.
The question I get most often after freezes is: “Is my plant still alive, and will it recover?” This is a hard question to answer for individual plants. There are way too many variables.
You’ll have to evaluate the plant’s health for yourself. I would say to be optimistic for plants growing in the ground, particularly if you were able to provide some protection.
