High Altitude Nature and Gardening (HANG) – November: Gardening goes indoors

By Janet Sellers

We had a long and wonderful Indian summer this year and only got some cold weather basically toward the end of October. Volunteers and I put the frost cloth on the garden beds at Tri-Lakes Cares and they did fine all month, doubling in size with the warm days and protected nights. Hopefully they’ll last another few weeks.

I put most of my potted flowers at home on a rolling cart. That way they go in at night but out during the day. I think I will try some new techniques for overwintering my geraniums and petunias and other flowering plants. In a warmer climate they are perennials, but in our high desert mountain clime they are treated as annuals. Some people I know have their potted fair-weather lemon trees indoors until next summer.

A lot of our potted plants can be brought indoors for safety and only things like a potted apple tree would need to be outside because it needs a certain amount of cold hours for blooms the next year. The pot has to be wrap protected from severe cold to protect the roots inside as the garden ground soil would do, but the apple, cherry and other trees need the cold. I’ll use a thick wrap of straw and then frost cloth, but many just dig a hole and plop the mulched potted tree into it, so the ground is the root protection.

How do you wrap trees to protect them from freezing?

Canopy.org recommends us to “cover susceptible trees and plants with burlap, sheets, tarps, etc., that extend to the ground to trap in the earth’s accumulated warmth. Use a frame or stakes to minimize contact between the cover and the foliage. Bring potted plants and trees to more protected locations.”

Also, wood chip mulch will protect from cold and keep in moisture. We aren’t supposed to bring apple, cherry, and other trees indoors. I didn’t get to the turf removal and mulching for my new pear trees until after our first snow in October. Hopefully all is well. My one little pear tree had a baby pear on it almost full size.

Some days in November will be in the 40s and higher, so we need to keep an eye on temperatures and water some of our garden in the warm parts of the days. Underneath wood mulch or pine needle mulch, the tree roots will appreciate a drink while being protected.

In winter we can still grow windowsill foods. I have “zombie” romaine, celery, and scallions on my kitchen windowsill. The stubs from these market veggies will regrow in less than a month, sending out roots and shoots. They may not get as big in water as in soil, but they’ve each grown 6-10 inches tall.

Janet Sellers is an avid garden enthusiast. Share your handy planting tips—contact her at janetsellers@ocn.me.

How do you wrap trees to protect them from freezing?

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