Hope everyone had a great holiday. On to a new year and some very cold temperatures and precipitation that flew through the Atlanta area this past week.
If you salted your walks and drive, I have gathered some information that may be of interest:
Avoid the use of rock salt for de-icing, to prevent injury to plants. Use Calcium Choride as a substitute, or better - sand or cinders.
If you have already used rock salt, adding water will not help, as the salt absorbs the water, robbing the plants and putting them in a drought-like state.
Buds and new twigs are especially at risk and can lose their hardiness against future cold spells. The effects on nearby plants from using rock salt late in the winter are even greater, as plants are emerging from dormancy and are the most susceptible to injury.
If your plants are already exhibiting frostbite, leave them until we are closer to being past extreme freezes. When they show signs of new growth in April and we are past frost (usually April 15 in Atlanta), you can prune the old, dead growth to encourage new shoots.
A few months yet of winter, but let's hope that was the worst!
Lyn
Thursday, January 14, 2010
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