February 28, 2008

 It’s that time of year…your thumbs may be turning green and you’re anxious to get out in the yard and prune, plant, transplant, fertilize, etc. to help make it all pretty.

From a purely weather perspective, we are not out of the woods yet for the last freeze of the season, if we use the climate averages for Texoma. The last freeze of course varies a bit north to south, and depends on your elevation too: here is the average date of last freeze for selected cities. Bear in mind that this average date of last freeze means that the actual last freeze may occur later or earlier than this by a couple of weeks.

 A good example…last year, when all locations except Ardmore had freezes after the “average last freeze date”.

  City                              Average Last Freeze Date                 2007 Last Freeze Date

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Ada                              March 30                                          April  8

Antlers                         April    3                                            April 16

Ardmore                      March 21                                           March 5

Bonham                        March 14                                          April  8

Durant                          March 27                                          April  8

Hugo                            March 24                                          April  8

Paris                             March 10                                          April  8

Sherman/Denison          March 17                                          April  8

 So, if you’re itching to get in the yard…go for it…but check with you local nursery, garden expert or county Ag agent for the best times to plant or prune.

Take Care and Happy Planting (by the way, don't ever ask for actual gardening advice..I can kill a rock if you give me enough time!),

Steve LaNore

Chief Meteorologist