At Fort Worth Botanic Garden, a scramble to avoid mass casualties from bitter cold
Around Fort Worth, homeowners are scrambling to prepare their gardens for this weekend’s prolonged deep freeze, but imagine having more than 100 acres of precious plants, trees and shrubs to protect.
Maddie Fay, a horticulturist at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden, said work is well underway to help ensure the survival of the gardens’ diverse flora.
It starts with covering sensitive species with frost cloth. Fay said garden staff would prioritize colorful annuals, like snapdragons, and winter greens, like cabbages, kale and mustard.
And though it might sound counterintuitive, Fay said it’s important to give a “deep drink” of water to anything that was planted in the last year or so. That water collects around the roots and keeps the plants hydrated while protecting the root system from the cold.
In addition to frost cloth, Fay said staff will use leaves to cover some low-growing plants, like the Asian jasmine found in the Japanese garden. Fay said it’s a good idea to keep leaves on the ground during the fall and winter months, as they provide insulation for grass and plants along with a nice habitat for desirable insect species.
“For this cold snap, we’re hoping most of our annual color displays will be just fine,” said Fay. “My biggest concern is any larger plants that have had a rough couple of years.”
Fay said the dramatic swing from warm to freezing temperatures puts added stress on plants, some of which have already begun emerging from their winter slumber given the recent pleasant weather.
In some cases, a sudden dip in temperature can cause trees to “explode,” a phenomenon that has gained traction on the internet recently. This happens, albeit rarely, when more sap than normal accumulates in a tree’s trunk during a period of unseasonable warmth. During a freeze, that sap can expand and cause the tree to snap apart with a loud bang.
But Fay said that mostly happens in trees with a high sap content, like maples, which typically grow farther north. It’s highly unlikely we’ll see exploding trees in Fort Worth, she added.
Fay was equally confident when asked how she thinks the Botanic Garden’s plants will fare this weekend.
“We’ve been through some pretty serious freezes and come out the other side.”
For now, there’s no official word on whether the Botanic Garden will be open this weekend, but Fay said it’s not looking good. She said schedule updates would be posted to the garden’s website and social media feeds.