Protect Your Plants Before a Freeze

Three Things To Do to Protect Your Plants Before a Freeze

Much of the U.S. is entering freeze season. I’m not talking a light morning frost, but a full-on freeze. While ideally we would all be planting natives that are well-accustomed to our local climate, it’s not always realistic. We like what we like and often willing to stress test plants to achieve the landscaping we want. That means more work helping those plants through a heat dome or a freeze, so you will need to stay on top of weather alerts.

Here are three things to do the night before a freeze.

Water before a freeze, even if it seems counterintuitive

If the weather before a freeze is dry, get out there with a hose and get your plant roots wet. The water will insulate the roots and give the cell walls of the plant enough insulation to prevent cold damage. It also improves the plants ability to absorb any heat from the sun. It also creates humidity which retains heat better than dry air. The key here is how much you water, because too much can also cause damage. You want moist soil, not soaking wet soil.

Warm them up a bit with old holiday lights

Before the great onset of LED holiday lights, there were incandescent bulbs, and those bulbs emitted heat. That’s not so great for lights attached to the house, but is great for giving plants a few degrees of extra heat.

Use the right kind of blanket to tuck your plants in

Winter burn is a result of dry soil and whipping wind. Watering helps but you need the right kind of material for protection. You want the plants to be able to breath, so materials like burlap are best. You want heat but you want it to be able to escape too.

Young trees and shrubs might need the help. Established plants probably don’t. Flowering trees like azaleas, camellias, and rhododendrons need protection only from the most extreme cold.