ABC's Advice
I told you it was going to get cold, and advised you to protect your succulents, and I hope you listened to me. But there’s still time, since it’s going to be near freezing again tonight.
This time, I’ll let KGO-TV tell you what to do.
The next wave of bone-chilling weather will hit especially hard in the North and East Bay. The cold will be good for grapes; it will send the vines into dormancy, but it will not be as good for nurseries or plants in many people’s backyards….
“A jade plant, (even) if it’s been on Grandma’s front porch for 10 years, it can be three feet tall, in the morning, if it’s a hard freeze, it will just be deflated like a balloon,” Eckles said.
Eckles suggests using a protective spray or covering plants with a light-weight cloth propped up on stakes so it does not directly touch the plant.
Now they go on to suggest watering before the freeze, right after discussing succulents, which is all wrong. They didn’t say to water succulents before the freeze but they sure suggested it. Well don’t do it! Dry is better in the cold for ALL succulents.
Also, we use a frost blanket that is spun fabric and can be draped right onto the plant without tenting it first.
