I live in Northern California, in the valley. And even though it is 70+ right now and we are experiencing an historical drought, a couple of weeks ago it froze at night. I have 3 Bougainvillea that didnt handle it well, mainly because there was a cold wind and no protection. I have since moved them to my patio where they are now protected from any wind and enjoy sun throughout the day. Or forcast is mid 40's at night and high 60's for the next 10 days. As you can see all the foliage has died. I am in the process of plucking it all off. I also water it like a houseplant for now... So, do you think they will recover?. Should I bring them inside or do you think the air will be too dry? Should I cut the plants down? Many thanks! Mark H. Sacramento, CA

Let it establish roots since it is most likely in shock from replanting. Keep the plants well watered even if your soil is heavy. As long as there is no standing water, your plants will be fine. Don't mist them. That doesn't really do anything to help. Give them nice, deep waterings. Your geraniums will grow some this year, but you will definitely notice a difference in size and vigor next spring and in coming years when more established.

Very common pests of petunias are the Petunia or Tobacco (Geranium) Budworms and one means of control for these is Bacillus thuringiensis - Kurstaki. I have used several brands of BtK and have not had any that had an odor so you may want to look around for another brand. There are several. Neem Oil products, possibly Spinosad, maybe a pyrethrin may also help. Systemics are not a good choice since they are linked to the death of pollinators.

Planting in the right season, after it cools down in fall and can be expected to rain), and planting smallest size plants and mulching heavily goes a long way towards to getting plants well established to survive their first Mediterranean climate summer. If someone is having major problems keeping well known Medit climate native survivors such as Rosemary and Lavenders alive, it is just as likely due to trying to force them to adapt at the wrong season, and not paying attention to natural cycles. For a garden in Greece with extreme heat and poor water quality, I'd recommend that you pay extreme attention to what already does grow well in your neighborhood, and only plant new smaller plants out in November/December. Also, it is important to remember that not all Mediterranean climate zones are equal as to amount of cold in winter, amount of winter rainfall, length of dry season, and amount of summer heat and winds. I'm located in coastal northern California, where we are a Mediterranean climate rainfall pattern, but have next to no summer heat, and have much reduced drying out of soils and plants because we get so much summer fog and overcast which keeps things cooler and less dry. Trying to grow things in high summer heat with poor water quality is not a foreign concept in parts of southern California, and tried but true methods often rely on choosing desert or high heat adapted plants, and providing moderated shading in summer for plants that can't take full hot sun with such high heat. I'd suggest that things like American southwest desert species of Agaves, Leucophyllum species, Teucriums, Phlomis, Cistus, and things native to the Mediterranean Basin that are adapted to limestone soils would be the natural approach to take where it is both hot, dry and basic soil ph. A lot of plants from Mexico and South Africa as well as Australia would do well under such conditions. Where I garden in Berkeley, it is even balmier than the Algarve in Portugal, and we often have more in common with tropical Cloudforest habitats than other Mediterranean zone climates, due to our foggy summers and cold offshore ocean currents. I grow many of the same succulents that Orchis mentions, but some of the more frost tender Kalanchoe species are both prone to rotting and occasional freezing in our wetter/colder winters here near San Francisco. Some of the more tender Aeoniums such as A. canariensis can grow fantastically well here, but an occasional cold winter's frost can also do major damage. Some all purpose plants that I could recommend as survivors in high heat might include Aloe saponaria and Aloe ferox, Bulbine frutescens, Agave bracteosa(in partial shade), Agave parryi, Artemesia species, Arctotis cultivars, Brachychiton populneum, Brahea armata, Caesalpinia mexicana, Centauria gymnocarpa, Centranthus ruber, Ceratostigma plumbaginoides(in partial shade), Convolvulus sabatius, Correa species, Cotinus coggygria, Cussonia paniculata,...