Cactus Blankets

For desert dwellers, the weather has been bitterly cold for 5 consecutive nights. Before sunrise today it reached a low of 13 degrees along the arroyo on the northern edge of our sub-division. A new record low temperature of 17 degrees was set today for Tucson.

The cactus blankets have been out for a while. When the temperature falls below 30 degrees (-2C), plants and cactus need protection from the hard freeze. Cactus, which you think of as the most hardy, invincible plants on earth, actually are super sensitive to sub-freezing temperatures.

I use torn sheets, cloths, towels and even old wash cloths to cover at least the sensitive tops of the cactus, which are the most sensitive.

I will uncover them Thursday when the low is expected to get slightly above freezing and the high will finally crack the sixties. They need exposure to the sun and I've had them covered for a couple of weeks.