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Our regular hours are:
Saturday 8am to 6pm
Sunday 9am to 6pm
Monday thru Friday
8:30am to 6:30pm
Teas
Nursery
4400 Bellaire Blvd
(713)664-4400
Catalog Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 1603 Bellaire, TX 77402-1603
Email:
teas@teasnursery.com
Toll Free Number:
(800) 446-7723
In Houston area:
(713) 664-4400
Fax: (713) 295-5144
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Teas Winter Tips
Covering outdoor tropicals and bringing in potted plants can
be a chore this time of the year. You can make your job easier
with a few advance preparations and by learning which plants
are the most sensitive to cold.
Preparations
Have a few saucers on hand and prepare a spot for your pot
plants. It might actually freeze again in Houston this winter.
Our plants are not always very well prepared for the frosts
that can come right after balmy 90 degree weather.
Use Insulate® Frost Cloth just $1.20 per running ft. (12
ft. wide)
Because plastic is a danger once the sun comes out, it is better
to use fabric to cover plants. It would be a good idea to purchase
some Insulate® Frost Cloth material from Teas to cover up plants
outside. This material is inexpensive and designed to breathe
and insulate. If you can bring the material to the ground and
weight it down you can improve the temperature underneath by
a couple of degrees. Mulching your plants is good as well. You
can mulch anytime to 2 inches thick, but you could cover the
base of plants more deeply during very cold weather as extra
protection. When the weather warms up the extra mulch should
be removed.
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Don't waste your time and your elbow grease on these
hardier pot plants. They'll probably be okay unless we
really get zapped (down in the teens for 2 days or more).
This list can also be used to decorate with hardy plants
in pots for the winter.
Many of
these may freeze back, but return strongly when spring
comes. If they are prized pets, bring them in.
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- Asparagus Fern
(Foxtail is slightly more tender)
- Canary Island Date
- Cast Iron Plant (aspidistra)
- Century Plants (agaves)
- Chrysanthemums
- Cyclamen
- Euonymus
- Ginger
- Hen and Chicks
- Holly Fern
- Iris
- Japanese Aucuba
- Junipers
- Kumquats
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- Ligustrum
- Nephtitis
- Oleander
- Pansies and violas
- Pittosporum
- Prickly Pear Cactus
- Roses
- Rosemary
- Sago Palm
- Sasanqua Oranges
- Split-leaf (selloum) philodendron
- Windmill Palm
- Yuccas
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Some of the most susceptible to freezing
are:
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- Begonias
- Bougainvillea
- Bromeliads
- Chinese Evergreen
- Closet Plants
- Crotons
- Dracaena
- Episcia
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- Geraniums
- Heliconia
- Hibiscus
- Ixora
- Orchids
- Plumeria
- Sansevieria
- Tibouchina
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The above plants are worth saving in the garage or a
sunny window. If you're really lucky you will have a greenhouse
or sunroom for this purpose. One way to make instant protection
is to set up a camping tent and put your plants in it.
Except for cactus and bromeliads it is always good to
water your plants before and after a freeze. Try Cloud
Cover®, Frost Pruf®, or Muriate of Potash to spray
on susceptible plants to protect the leaf surfaces.
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Hibiscus in the ground
Many of us have well established hibiscus trees after
all these mild winters. These tropicals can be pulled through a tough
winter. The more trouble you go to the better results you will probably
have.
The ideal protection would be a temporary cold frame
constructed of wooden framing covered with plastic and a heat source
such as a 100 watt light bulb on an outdoor fixture. Also good is
draping plastic from the eves like a lean-to greenhouse. Some extra
mulch around the crown, watering, and a silent prayer are the least
you can do. Hibiscus can be considered annuals, so let them freeze
and we'll make more.
How far to cut them back . . .
Remember hibiscus bloom on mature wood, so cut back only half way
if you want plenty of early flowers. If they are damaged by frost,
you should cut off any dead branches to prevent rotting. If the tops
are frozen, non-grafted plants will slowly return from the roots and
bloom by late summer.
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Questions or Comments? Email us at: teas@teasnursery.com
Teas
Home Page
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Order by calling 1-800-446-7723
Or Fax
Order Blank to (713) 295-5144
Hours
Mon-Fri
8:30-6:30, Sat. 8-6, Sun 9-6
Teas Nursery, serving customers who respect quality
and expect value.
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Est.
1843 
