You should probably cover your plants in Phoenix this week. Here are some tips
With freezing temperatures in the Phoenix forecast this week, now is the time to protect frost-sensitive plants.
The National Weather Service is forecasting high temperatures only in the upper 50s with evening temperatures in the mid to low 30s through Tuesday evening.
Weather Service meteorologist Mark O’Malley suggests people take specific precautions to protect vegetation and their homes.
“For any outdoor piping, you want to drain the water out, and protect those. Your plants, you need to cover any non-native vegetation, but some of the areas that get very cold, even that won’t be sufficient because this is a very cold air mass," he said.
The Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix recommends against using plastic coverings — instead, choose N-Sulate fabric, burlap or old sheets.
Young plants and plants in containers are more vulnerable to the cold, according to the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension. The office suggests securing the covers with twine or wooden clothes pins to avoid damage to spines.
You may see Styrofoam cups used to cover the sensitive ends of columnar cactus varieties including totems, silver torch and Mexican fencepost.
Metro Phoenix forecast
Sunday: Clear, with a low around 32. Breezy, with a west wind 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.
Monday: Widespread frost between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. Otherwise, sunny, with a high near 52. West wind around 5 mph. At night, widespread frost, mainly after 4 a.m. Otherwise, clear, with a low around 32. Calm wind becoming east around 5 mph.
Tuesday: Widespread frost before 10 a.m. Otherwise, sunny, with a high near 55. Calm wind becoming east around 5 mph. At night, mostly clear, with a low around 34. Calm wind.
Wednesday: Widespread frost, mainly before 9 a.m. Otherwise, sunny, with a high near 58. Calm wind becoming southeast around 5 mph in the afternoon. At night, mostly clear, with a low around 37. South wind around 5 mph becoming east northeast in the evening.
Thursday: A 20% chance of showers before noon. Mostly sunny, with a high near 57. Breezy, with a south southeast wind 5 to 15 mph becoming west in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph. At night, mostly clear, with a low around 32. Breezy, with a west northwest wind 5 to 15 mph becoming north northeast after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph.
Friday: Sunny, with a high near 57. East northeast wind around 5 mph becoming south in the afternoon. At night, mostly clear, with a low around 36. South southwest wind around 5 mph becoming east northeast in the evening.
Source: National Weather Service
