Time to watch plants

link Joshua Lucero: Staff photo

Hestands Floral owner Rose Richards shows a chrysanthemum, which adapts to colder temperatures, Tuesday afternoon at the flower shop. According to the National Weather Service in Albuquerque, the first freeze is expected to hit by Nov. 9.

Staff writer

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The first freeze has yet to hit the Portales area, but according to National Weather Service meteorological technician Troy Marshall, it’s right around the corner.

Marshall said the average first freeze happens by about Oct. 19, but this year it could be as late as Nov. 9 as the cold front that moved in Sunday gives way to warmer temperatures.

Roosevelt County Extension Agent Patrick Kircher said he received calls Tuesday morning from residents reporting temperatures as low as 32 degrees south of Portales, with one man reporting frost on vegetation near Dora.

The lowest temperature recorded at Cannon Air Force Base was 41 degrees, according to Kircher.

Kircher said the temperature in Roosevelt County fluctuates depending on topography.

Kircher said residents looking to preserve their plants should keep an eye on forecasts in the coming weeks.

“Duration (of cold temperatures) is the biggest thing,” Kircher said. “If the temperature is below freezing two hours or more it is likely that a plant will have a fair amount of damage.”

Plants that are normally kept outside should be brought indoors if the temperature drops below freezing, he said.

If a plant can’t be brought inside, Kircher said it is best to cover it to keep the frost off it.

“House plants, fruits, and vegetables are most sensitive to drastic shifts in weather,” Kircher said.

Covering a plant with plastic will work, according to Kircher, but a sheet or blanket would be most effective.

“Where the plant touches the plastic it is susceptible to frost. Cloth will do a better job keeping the frost out,” Kircher said.

Hestands Floral owner Rose Richards said flowering plants such as rose bushes should survive light freezes, but warns that the blooms they have will not make it through the cold weather.

Richards suggests that flowering plants be moved inside if the weather is forecast is for below freezing temperatures for a sustained amount of time.

“Flowering plants with tender leaves, like lilies and daisies are more susceptible to frost,” said Richards.

Richards said plants such as chrysanthemums, pansies, violas and plants from the cabbage family are better suited to survive frigid temperatures.