Freeze Preparation in Houston: To Prepare or NOT, That is the Question!

I have been a landscape designer and lover of all things landscaping maintenance for almost 25 years now, with exception of the panic that runs through my veins the second I hear the weather man say two little words; WINTER FREEZE. At that moment I think of every beautiful landscape I created or maintained all year and exactly what beautiful shrubs are blooming and winter flowers are in full glory and I began scrambling to organize all the client’s landscaping I know we need to prepare to keep the damage minimized.

In the beginning of offering our Freeze Preparation service, it was really just to provide basic assistance to a handful of elderly clients that we really just wanted to be safe and would run by to help them get everything covered, or in the garage while we wrapped their pipes and spigots for them. But as the business grew and the investment in landscaping the majority of our clients had put into their amazing landscaping, it became clear this was a critically needed service we would need perfect in order to see maximum results. Over the years we found a few critical pieces that created the most success to the point now most of the clients once untarped show little to no damage to as little as 15 degrees. Now this is largely dependent on many factors that I will lay out below.

Now I cant give away all of our trade secrets as they came from many years of trial and error, however, I will tell you the materials you use absolutely matter. Frost cloths, while they help sunlight get in which for long freezes can be beneficial, do not protect from the wind desiccation which is largely responsible for the damage the plants incur during a winter storm. We use seriously thick tarping for our freeze preparation that we custom order every year to size. While it may keep moisture which can sometimes create some other issues, if clients follow our strict watering protocol, their plants are usually in the clear from major wind desiccation damage. These tarps also keep snow off the plants in case we are gifted with snow which is rare but does happen.

If you are interested in our freeze preparation services, we will post a video soon so you can see for yourself what a great service it is. Not only does it keep you from having to go out in the cold but the difference between us tarping and the homeowner leads to much less damaged landscaping, which is less replacements and less time waiting for plants to recover.