Frost

When watering the plants to pevent form the harmful effects of frost, the watering must be done during the day and the water should go to the soil, never to the leaves, as they will keep the water and it could get frosted.

Dormant plants do not need to be protected that much as their activity would practically stop during the winter time.

When covering a plant to protect it from frost, plastic would retain some heat but not a large amount, it is better to cover the plants with a fleece.


How to cover a plant with a fleece

Tender plants would need to be protected from frost. To cover them we have to take into account that the soil will absorb heat during the day and give it back during the night time. So the fleece has to be placed over the plant during the night, and taket away during the day.


During the high sun of the winter (2-3 pm) the soil will absorb the most heat, so it's good to have soil iwhtou any cover (fleece or mulch).


During the early morning (5-7 am) it's good to have the soil covered because the soil will loose the heat faster.

Plants suitable for challenging environments (wind, extreme temperatue changes)

Field trip to Deelish Garden Center

Plant name Type Reasons for suitability Helleborus Herbaceous evergreen perennial  flowering plants It flowers in christmas time Hardy plant Frost resistant Acanthus spinosus spinosa Herbaceous No serious  insect or disease problems. Hardy plant Pothinia - Red robbin Evergreen shrub Hardy plant Tolerant to winter Leaves turn red in winter Attractive Tolerates full shade Somewhat drought tolerant once established Viburnum Evergreen shrub Evergreen Easy maintenance Hardy Scently flower Ecucalyptus tree Evergreen tree Hardy Colourful bark Italian alder Decidious tree Hardy tree for exposed areas Atracts bird life Garlic Vegetable Stands low temperatures during the winter Artichokes Perennial thistle Winter hardy They can be grown almost everywhere Can survive between 90-100 days of frost over the year

Some ideas for plants for special places

http://www.dyg.ie/forum/plants-places

Extreme conditions

Sometimes we need to choose plant for an area where wi will have extreme weather conditions; extreme heat, really low temperatures, continuous winds...

There are plants that will survive in extreme weather conditions.

In Ireland if we have to choose plants adapted to the wind we should go for native shrubs and trees.

Plants that will bear with the high temperatures of Ireland are:

• Ferns
• Bracken
• Alpine plants
• Pine trees
• Succulents plants
• Sedum
• Ornamental grasses
• Herbs
• Furze

Plants that will handle low temperatures are:

• Holly trees
• Pine trees
• Alpine trees
• Artichokes
• Garlic
• Broadbeans
• Thyme
• Rosemary
• Leeks
• Rhubarb
• Kale
• Brussel sprouts

Preventing late frost

Late frost can cause a lot of damage in our crop and to our plants.

If we have trees that have blossomed and we expect to get late frost we have to protect them from it, otherwise the flowers will get frozen and we will not get any fruits.

To protect a blossomed tree from the late frost we can used different techniques:

1. Cover the tree with a fleece. We will use this for temperatures between +2º and - 5ºC
2. Place a bucket full of water on the bottom of the tree. The water will take most of the frost from the tree.
3. Sprinkle the tree with running water. It has to be running water to avoid the sprinkled water to get frozen as that will do even more damage than the frost.
4. Place a tar barrel close to the tree. The tar will give some heat to the tree.