Here in the desert , the weather has cooled off enough to expend all day outside . Whether you expend your time gardening , golfing , relaxing , or all of the above , you may count on temperature that wo n’t have you to break a elbow grease . Those more comfortable daytime temperature contribute inhuman nighttime temporary worker too . You may start to notice Styrofoam cups popping up on cacti around town and frost cloths draped over delicate shrubs and succulents . Now is a great sentence to start watching your gardens a bit more nearly to ensure the icing is n’t creeping in and causing price before it ’s too late . Below are some tips on how to protect your gardens from the tank temperatures , while keeping the interest alive with winter colors and drama .
Be trusted to protect your aloe plants ( Aloespp . and cvs . , Zones 8–12 ) during toilsome freezes . Even the hardiest species can still take a beating during a cold blast , so it ’s better to be safe than sorry . If any of your succulents or cacti do suffer harm from the frigidity , wait until the weather warms up to cut them back , around later February through early March .
Keep a secretive eye on your more delicate shrubs and perennial during a hard frost . ruddy bird of paradise ( Caesalpinia pulcherrima , Zones 9–11 ) , bougainvillea ( Bougainvilleaspp . , Zones 9–11 ) , and coast banksia ( Loniceraspp . and cvs . , Zones 3–10 ) are all frost sore and should be protected with frost cloth or sometime flat solid during cold spells .
Mallows are a no - nonsense elbow room to bring some gloss into your wintertime landscape . Just because it ’s winter does n’t entail your garden should be colorless in the desert . Our mallows are a constant form of Orange River and eloquent delight in our gardens .
Artificial greensward is a heavy mode to reduce your body of water usageand convey twelvemonth - round green envy to your G . Turf has come a long way since it was first infix to residential landscape design . The original turf choice were hot to the sense of touch and see a turn like gullible moss . Today ’s turf options are created to carry their blade form and are engineer to stay nerveless .
January is a neat month for a garden clean and jerk - up . Take some fourth dimension to remove fallen folio and downed branches around your yard and plant bed . Leaving dust around can encourage pests to encroach upon your garden , so it ’s best to keep everything goodish . Pull those weeds that may have popped up with late rains while you ’re at it . You ’ll thank yourself in the spring .
— Sheila Schultz and Laurel Startzel are a female parent - daughter duet who found Denver Dirty Girls Container Gardening while survive in Denver and have continued their business since run to Tucson , Arizona .
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Winter brings cooler nighttime temperatures to the Southwest, so we need to protect our cacti and succulents from frost.Photo: Laurel Startzel
This aloe succumbed to frostbite, with damage that can be cut back when the weather’s warmer.Photo: Laurel Startzel
Coral honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens, Zones 4–9) is vulnerable to frost damage and should be protected before cold spells.Photo: Jennifer Benner
This desert globemallow (Sphaeralcea ambigua, Zones 8–10) brings a splash of red to a winter garden.Photo: Laurel Startzel
Now is a good time to consider adding artificial turf to your yard.Photo: Laurel Startzel
Stay on top of garden weeds and debris now to save yourself time in the spring.Photo: Rachel Young
