cactuswatcher (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
cactuswatcher) wrote2008-12-28 10:04 am
cactuswatcher) wrote2008-12-28 10:04 am
Entry tags:
Chilly Morning
Most places in the US the temperatures get the lowest in mid January. Here in the desert it's usually the last week of December to the first week of January. I had my first frost of the season this morning.
The temptation of living in a place like this is to grow tropical plants that don't like frost at all. 360+ days a year, it's fine. But, you have to be sure to cover them for mornings like this. Last year we had temperatures in the 20's for several hours two days in a row which is too cold for just covering them. I bring some plants inside, but I don't have room for all of them.
The tall cactus in the photo looks like a saguaro, but it's actually a related cactus from the coast of Mexico where it almost never freezes. Stem is resistant to the cold, but the growing tip can freeze and die. I cover the top of it when it frosts with an ordinary paper grocery bag, which I save for the purpose. Fortunately the worst of the cold is down near the ground so that when it gets tall enough I can't reach the top, it should be fine on it's own. The bluish and yellow agave is a century plant. The old dead leaves at the bottom look a bit more unsightly here than they do in real life. The bush behind that is a fairy duster which grows high over the wall if I let it. To the right is a sage which has also been pruned for the year. The wall goes all the way to the top of this picture. The ripply line near the top is the shadow of my neighbor's tile roof.
The temptation of living in a place like this is to grow tropical plants that don't like frost at all. 360+ days a year, it's fine. But, you have to be sure to cover them for mornings like this. Last year we had temperatures in the 20's for several hours two days in a row which is too cold for just covering them. I bring some plants inside, but I don't have room for all of them.
The tall cactus in the photo looks like a saguaro, but it's actually a related cactus from the coast of Mexico where it almost never freezes. Stem is resistant to the cold, but the growing tip can freeze and die. I cover the top of it when it frosts with an ordinary paper grocery bag, which I save for the purpose. Fortunately the worst of the cold is down near the ground so that when it gets tall enough I can't reach the top, it should be fine on it's own. The bluish and yellow agave is a century plant. The old dead leaves at the bottom look a bit more unsightly here than they do in real life. The bush behind that is a fairy duster which grows high over the wall if I let it. To the right is a sage which has also been pruned for the year. The wall goes all the way to the top of this picture. The ripply line near the top is the shadow of my neighbor's tile roof.
