Hollister
– Saturday’s sunshine may have seemed like a perfect excuse to
get some gardening done, but it may still be too early to replace
those plants bitten by January’s frost.
Hollister – Saturday’s sunshine may have seemed like a perfect excuse to get some gardening done, but it may still be too early to replace those plants bitten by January’s frost.
Kathy Johnson of Hollister spent the weekend assessing the damage to her orange and lime trees, which she is certain were irreparably damaged by January’s freeze.
The nice weather led many Hollisterites to head to their local nursery or garden store in an effort to repair the winter’s damage.
“A lot of people wanted to tear out their (damaged garden) and replant it,” said Caryn Paidl, owner of Paidl Gardens and Accents. “But now is not the time of year to plant frost-tender plants.”
In mid-January, temperatures in Hollister dropped into the low 20s and marked the longest and coldest spell in the region since 1998, according to National Weather Service officials.
The freezing weather caused substantial damage to local crops and agriculture, but backyard greenthumbs were left with frost-bitten plants and trees as well. Citrus trees, bougainvilleas and jade plants took some of the hardest beatings this winter, Paidl said.
Despite the lure of weekend weather in the high 70s, local nursery owners are warning gardeners not be too hasty in replacing their plants.
“With citrus trees, a lot of people think they lost it, but 90 percent of them will be OK,” Paidl said. “Leave it alone till at least the end of March.” Paidl warns people not to prune or cut off the damaged parts of plants until late March as well, since leaving the damaged parts on actually protects the plants from further frosts.
The weekend’s warm weather brought a lot of garden lovers in to local nurseries. Paidl reported a 50 percent increase in customers over the weekend. She said she had to talk many of those customers out of purchasing new citrus trees and other frost-tender plants.
Ron Terry, branch manager of the Hollister El Modeno Gardens, Inc., which sells wholesale to large retailers up and down the West Coast, said he saw a huge influx of orders on Monday, indicating an increase in sales over the weekend.
“This is the kind of weather that people really want to start working in their yards,” Terry said. “Everybody has had a lot of damage to their yards, so there’s going to be a lot of replanting.”
Although the replanting may need to be done by many Hollister gardeners, for those interested in spending time out in their yard, there is still much to be done before addressing the damaged plants.
Jeannine Bogard, a horticulturist who works for a local flower seed company, said February is a good time to start planning your yard plantings and preparing your garden for spring. She said it is also a good time to plant frost-hardy plants, such as pansies, violas, poppies, shrubs and trees.
“A lot of people, we get these nice days, and they’re lulled into a false sense of security,” Bogard said. “But we’re hanging on until March. I don’t trust this season; we’ve gone from one extreme to another. Save your money.”
Alice Joy covers education for the Free Lance. You can contact her at (831) 637-5566 ext. 336 or at
aj**@fr***********.com
.
