Plastic Tent Protects Fall, Winter & Spring.
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Night cap provides just enough protection from bitter cold to keep pansies smiling.
Photo: Brax - VPC
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U
nder the harshest conditions it is best to cover the pansy with a bucket, box or plastic during the coldest nights. And when the sun beams the next morning the pansy will be right there beaming back.
Given that the word pansy is often associated with a weakling... it is hard to imagine a more ill fitting stereotype for this mighty mini.
This is the flower that will keep your doorway, garden, walkway and patio full of magnificent color from October to May in the valley and from November to April closer to the mountain.
Pansies are very cold hardy but, taking a little precaution and giving them a break helps keep them vibrant and blooming even during the coldest sub-freezing spells. Sure, they will stay alive although in a more dormant stage if the temperature is real cold. Yet, we have found that they do best when they are protected from the really cold night air.
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Dry cleaners bags with coat hangers or sticks will do just fine. Tie top of bag to make a dome and seal in the heat of the pot or soil at night.
Photo: Brax - VPC
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You can use a tent made out of plastic to protect Pansies during the coldest part of the winter or to protect Spring flowers that may be caught off guard with a late Spring snow. Save up some large garment bags that you get from the cleaners. You should not keep your close in them once you get home because of the acids that will be released over time and this can harm your finer cloths.
Make a structure out of long thin branches or use clothes hangers but be sure to use a set of pliers to double back the sharp ends. Place the rods, three or four of them, into the soil of your pots or in the ground around your plant. Then when the temperature is going to burrow into the teens or low twenties... place the bag over the robs insuring that the tops of the plant do not touch the top of the bag. If it is windy too, you can add some small rocks to the plastic to keep it in place. The frame also keeps the plastic from banging the plants when the wind kicks up.
It is the air inside the tent that provides the insulation. Sure, it will be cold but the heat from the plants themselves and the soil will keep the roots and especially the flowers in tip-top shape when the sun comes out and they thaw out. May great blooms can be saved and those that will follow will be hearty and bright.
Happy Gardening.
Prepared by UVB staff.
(Photos: Brax - Valley Publishing Company)
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