Brrrr!!!!! It's cold outside, or at least it seems that way to me. My wife tells me I am a "Wooooooos" when it comes to cold. I really don't like cold weather.

I was thinking about cold weather the other day when I was looking at some landscape plants that not native to Southeast Missouri but planted in a local landscape. When it gets cold in our area I wonder if they shiver like I do. A good example of these plants are azaleas, rhododendrons, Southern magnolia, holly, boxwoods, and camelias. They are beautiful in the spring, so I think that is the reason they are planted here.

When you and I get cold, we find a blanket or heavy jacket to cover our body with. This helps keep the warmth in our body so we don't shiver as much.

Obviously plants can't put on a winter coat. Quite often they suffer from winter burn. Fortunately for southern plants in our area, there is a product you can use to "put a coat on them." This coat reduces moisture loss which is the main problem with southern plants in our area in the winter.

"Anti-Stress 2000", is a product you mix with water and spray on the susceptible plant before the weather stress period. It basically coats the leaves and stems with a "wax coating" that keeps moisture in the plant. This results is help for the plant to tolerate cold dry weather during the winter in this area. This same product can be used to coat your fresh cut Christmas tree, wreaths, and greens, etc.

Anti-Stress 2000 is seen with a "stressed" azalea plant, in center, Nov. 22 at Sunny Hill Gardens & Florist in Cape Girardeau.Jacob Wiegand

I hope this information will help you keep your landscape beautiful at this time of the year, and make it absolutely gorgeous in the spring. Happy gardening. Just remember when you go outside and put a coat on, put a coat on your southern plants this winter.