Home & Garden
Those frosty mornings are beautiful to look at, but they can be hard on your plants. The frost accumulates on leaves, and the fluids within the leaf freeze and expand. When this happens, the cells within the leaves burst and cannot recuperate. Frost may merely injure a few leaves or entirely kill the plant. A little extra caution and having certain materials on hand can go a long way toward protecting your delicate plants from the cold. Here are five simple ways to protect them from frost.
Water plants in the afternoon
Although it may appear contradictory, keeping the soil moist can help protect plants from the cold. Damp earth acts as an insulator, radiating heat upward at night. When watering plants before a cold spell, make sure to do so in the middle of the day when temperatures are still mild.
Add mulch for insulation
Tender plants can benefit from a thick coating of mulch. Use straw, wood chips, leaf mold, or even just a heap of leaves to supply vital insulation for the plant’s underground root systems. Mulch generously to a depth of 3 to 6 inches to form an excellent barrier. Allow an inch or two of space around the center stalk so that earth warmth can move up through the plant. Cover the entire plant with mulch the night before predicted low temperatures, then remove it when the weather improves.
Use blankets to protect
Cover a larger group of plants with blankets, bedsheets, towels, or drop cloths to protect them. Drape them loosely over the plants, using stakes to support the material as needed. To create a little insulation dome, make sure the plant cover extends right to the ground. Add a final covering of plastic — a tarp or an old shower curtain–for added frost resistance. Just make sure that no part of the plastic covering comes into contact with the foliage of your plant, as plastic can harm it. To anchor the fabric to the ground, use bricks, stones, or anything heavy if the wind is an issue. Remove your coverings at mid-day to avoid overheating your plants.
Use a cloche
A cloche is a bell-shaped cover made of plastic or glass that helps keep shorter plants warm and cozy in cold weather. A milk jug cloche is a simple garden hack that involves cutting off the bottom of a gallon-size jug and placing it over a plant, making sure to push the base of the jug near an inch deep in the earth. Tie the jug handle to a nearby stake to keep it from blowing away. Close the jug cover at night for optimum protection, and remove it during the day to vent the cloche and avoid overheating the plant.
Move the tender plants indoors
Bring fragile plants indoors whenever feasible. Plants in containers are more vulnerable to frost damage because they do not benefit from the earth’s insulating capabilities, as in-ground plants do. It is not always necessary to have a warm location. When temperatures drop into the mid-30s F, an unheated garage or garden shed will provide adequate protection.
