Preparing The Tropical Paradise for winter

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One of the limiting factors when growing tropical plants here in the desert is cold. Cold isn't something that most people think about here in the Phoenix, Arizona area, and of course it doesn't snow here, but it can be wildly uncomfortable for tropical plants.

In true tropical environments, the temperatures never, ever, get as low as they do here in the Sonoran Desert. And temperatures below freezing (32 F, 0 C) can be fatal for these plants. And below-freezing nighttime temperatures here are common in December and January, even if the temperature gets nice and warm during the day. Sure, it's 65 degrees (18 C) when you are out playing golf here in December, but if you try going outside at 3 am, you will see how cold it is! And your plants have to live out there! All night!

So now, at the beginning of December, is the time to be getting the garden ready for the cold. And the first thing that you have to do is to turn off your gardening instinct. That is, you don't want to encourage new growth. New growth is the most vulnerable to cold damage, so you just want to keep your plants in a *holding pattern* for a while. This is NOT the time to water. This is the time to toughen up your garden.

And this is the time to start keeping an eye on those overnight lows. Remember that just getting down to freezing isn't necessarily bad, it's the duration of time at these cold temperatures. So don't panic when you see nighttime lows of 32 (0 C). Check the duration. If it is going to get to freezing, or below, and stay there for several hours, that's when your tropical plants will be damaged, and might die.

When I first started The Tropical Paradise, I used frost cloths, then I got out of the habit. And then the big frost of 2007 hit, and then the big frost of 2010. I am going back to frost cloths! Or rather, just old bed sheets, there really is no reason to invest in *frost cloth*. And this is how you do it - loosely drape the sheets over your plants after the sun goes down, and remove the cloths first thing in the morning. Never, ever use plastic, but you can use old towels, bed sheets, that sort of thing. I only use the cloths in the back yard - the plants out front are all tough enough to take the cold.

The worst nights for your plants are the ones that are clear and cold. If you can see the stars, that's bad. If it's overcast, that's good, and you don't need to cover your plants. And keep in mind that cold air flows like water. It *puddles* in low areas, and it *drains*. If your block wall has little holes built into the bottom, make sure that they are not covered or plugged. They help the cold air drain away!

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