Next week, if the forecast holds, temperatures around here will drop below freezing at night. But that doesn’t mean much to perennials, shrubs and trees: The ground surface usually doesn’t freeze solid this early in the season. At most, it may get a light crust that thaws as soon as the sun comes up.
The soil temperature in the root zone of plants is still above 45 degrees, so roots can still be growing and getting more established even though the plant above ground may look dormant or dead. And they need water. Keeping the soil moist will help plants continue to grow below the surface. No need to water a lot right now, just keep the soil damp.
Some years, the ground may freeze hard before the end of October, but a few times in the past six years it hasn’t frozen until the first of December. If the latter happens, you better pull out a hose or buckets and water your trees and shrubs. Pay attention to what Mother Nature is doing and simply use common sense. But remember that in our poor soil you will almost never over-water anything. So when in doubt, water.
