Help Your Marginally Hardy Plants Survive Winter

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Dr. David L. Morgan

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Photo Credit: David L. Morgan

My favorite plant, esperanza, should survive winter now that it’s been planted in my garden on the south side of our house.

Sad, isn’t it, when those lustrous plants you’ve nurtured since spring succumb to the chill of the fall season? “Ah, but it’s to be expected,” you say. After all, you knew they were marginally hardy when you bought them in those little 4-inch containers. You didn’t really expect them to survive through October, now did you? But now those once-small babies fill a 2-gallon pot! Wouldn’t it be great if you could find a way to protect them through winter, so you could have them as fully grown specimens next spring?

Well, fellow gardeners, there’s good news! You just might be able to save many of those marginally hardy plants you expected to lose this winter if you just take some measures to protect them and follow a few gardening tips.

What should you do first? Well, if you’ve got room in your garden, plant container plants in the ground and use ample mulch to protect the roots. Consider esperanza (Tecoma stans), my favorite plant. Every year I purchase a new one in a 1-gallon container, bump it up to a 3-gallon size and watch it grow and produce those clusters of large, funnel-shaped, yellow flowers. If I leave it outside in the container, its roots freeze, so I start all over again with a new plant the next year.

But this past spring, I bought an exceptional specimen – a cultivar called ‘Gold Star’. I refuse to give it up without a fight. Though it’s only supposed to be hardy to Zone 9 (I live in Zone 7), I think I can save it. Here’s how: I planted it in the ground while the weather was still warm to allow its roots to establish. Then I mulched it well. Why might this work? Like many plants, esperanza dies when its roots freeze. In northern Mexico, where it’s native, that’s generally not a problem. But in north Texas (where I live) it can get much colder. If the roots are planted inground, however, they’re more likely to survive any freeze we might get.

Facts

Don’t expect your begonias, zinnias and African marigolds to bounce back from winter’s chill with a little TLC. No-sir-ree! Annuals are annuals – no matter how well you treat them, you can’t extend their life cycles when the weather gets frosty. The same goes for those tropicals. Unless they’re plants that can adjust to indoor lighting (or you’ve got a greenhouse), they just won’t survive until spring.
Has global warming affected your garden? At least in my north Texas neighborhood, temperatures haven’t reached their yearly average minimums (0 to 10 degrees F) in several years. If you’ve noticed a similar trend, your marginally hardy plants may stand a better chance of survival than in years past.

Tips

When considering plant hardiness, microclimates override all other considerations. Finding the warmest, most-protected spot in your landscape for your “delicate” plants could help them survive winter cold spells.

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