QUESTION OF THE WEEK
How do I protect my tropical plants when it freezes?
Answer:With containers, just bring them inside or into a garage. If they’ve simply gotten too large to move, some gardeners take cuttings to start new plants for next year.
For tropicals in the ground: Even if it’s not freezing yet, you want to be ready to throw a blanket or even a sheet over as temperatures drop at night. Check online for how low a temperature your tropical specimen can withstand.
Make sure you don’t use something like plastic, and make sure you don’t leave it on during the day when temps are high during the day. Put it on as late as possible before dark, and take it off first thing the next morning.
Again, avoid plastic because it creates a moist situation. Most likely the leaves will touch the plastic, too, unless you prop it up somehow, and that will create a situation where fungi and molds can really take off and damage your leaves.
If you do see any burned areas after the frost has occurred on your tropical plants, normally you can just shear that part back in spring and the plant will respond and grow in response to that pruning.
For many plants that are possibly cold tender, be sure to mulch their roots too.
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PLANT OF THE WEEK
Loropetalum
(Loropetalum chinensis var. rubrum )
 Loropetalum is a beautiful plant for its fall color. I like this variety for its burgundy and deep green leaves. New leaves emerge burgundy, later turning to a nice dark green.
In late summer, it blossoms with bright fuchsia flowers.
Loropetalum prefers moist and well-drained soil, enriched with a good quality compost. It also prefers slightly acidic soil, but it doesn’t have to have acidic soil—it is very adaptable to our alkaline soils, and you won’t really notice a problem with this in your garden. If you do notice a problem, you should use an acid-loving fertilizer.
It wants full sun. If you plant in clay soil, amend it to improve the drainage.
Lorapetalum generally gets about 6’ tall and wide. If you want it to remain a shrub, you don’t even need to prune it very much.
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PLANTING TIPS OF THE WEEK
- Watch the weather for early frost and be ready to protect cold-tender plants.
- Keep an eye on seedlings to make sure they’re not drying out.
- Keep an eye on the compost pile. With our cooling temperatures, the activity in your compost pile will start to lower. Turn it to increase activity and its temperature to keep it active.
- Continue planting trees, shrubs, and hardy perennials. It’s an excellent time to get spring-flowering perennials in the ground.
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THIS WEEK'S FEATURE
Arborist Guy LeBlanc picks the best trees, from small to large, and explains how to start them off right.
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