In warm, dry winter pamper plants

Confused about this warm-cold-warm-again winter? So is your lawn, and your ornamental plants and trees. Grass might be struggling to sprout. Plants might be shriveling or thinking about blooming already.

As if the drought weren't bad enough.

Don't fret. There are a few things you can do.

The Lowcountry has had only nine days so far this winter when the low temperatures have dropped below freezing, well below its 28-day average for a season, said Hope Mizzell, state climatologist. The national Climate Prediction Center forecast is for warmer than normal and drier than normal weather through March.

Plants are "very, very close to breaking dormancy," said Tom Johnson, Magnolia Plantation executive director and a garden professional. "But the cold snaps had been spread just enough to keep them from it."

An occasional cold snap while plants are budding won't hurt them unless it's severe, with temperatures down in the 20s. It's like putting them in the refrigerator for awhile, horticulturists will tell you.

Camellias, for instance, don't get into trouble until temperatures fall to the mid-20s. Japanese ornamental apricot have only a few weeks until they would normally bud.

The real danger comes from a hard frost after plants bloom, and that's looking less and less likely as winter wears on.

Besides, most trees and plants replace lost buds. In 2008, after a warm winter and early spring, plants were smacked by an Easter freeze, while any number of natural and ornamentals were budding. The cold caused a lot of die back, S.C. Forestry Commission entomologist Laurie Reid said, but most trees were able to bud again.

The bigger problem for your yard and garden is the ongoing drought. The Lowcountry has been in some stage of drought for nearly a year, before groundwater completely recovered from a 2007 drought so severe that docks were stranded around Lake Moultrie. A warm winter means more bugs in the spring, and bugs like to attack weakened plants.

"A plant is like a human. Any time you're stressed, your resistance is broken down," Johnson said.

"Year after year of dry weather stresses the trees and allows insects to more easily attack them. The warmer weather doesn't slow them down," Reid said.

Johnson and Reid have a few suggestions:

--Keep watering. Lawns, plants and trees still need water while they are dormant. But be careful not to over-water. Read Tony Bertauski's column on winter irrigation in this issue.

--If there's a cold snap after plants bloom, cover them if possible with sheets or blankets and move potted plants to a protected area.

--Watch for insects and fight them off quickly.

Reid has one more tip for homeowners: Don't stop treating for cockroaches over the winter. The little buggers like to come inside when it gets too cold or too warm.

Reach Bo Petersen at 937-5744 or follow him on Twitter at @bopete.