No one likes the extreme cold, not even your plants! If you have a green thumb and love to be around your plants, you must be no stranger to the concept of preparing your plants for the cold months ahead. Just like we air our sweaters and take out our blankets in preparation for the cold weather, the plants need to be protected from the cold as well. While there are a variety of ways you can do that yourself, hiring a professional ensures that the job is done right. If you have been looking for the right professionals to prepare your plans for the cold weather, you can consider Crystal Greens Landscape. Whether you take professional help or you want to DIY it, read on for tips and tricks to protect your plants from the cold.

Ways to Protect Your Plants.

Bring Them Indoors: Bringing delicate plants indoors is one of the first things that will come to your mind, and for a good reason too! Bringing the more delicate plants to a covered and protected place can be the safest and the most effective way to care for them. If it is impossible to have them indoors or on the porch, you can have them propped up by the fences, large trees, or under a pergola, patio, or courtyard area.

Add Mulch: Adding a layer of dry mulch can help your plants tremendously. Use chipped bark or straw to line plants like agapanthus, cape fuchsia, architectural melianthus, etc., so as to protect the plants. Alternatively, you can also use piles of leaves to add some extra layers of protection to your garden beds. This will prove to be another layer of barrier against term cold weather. 

Water them in the Daytime: When thinking about how to protect plants from frost, you most likely wouldn’t think that your schedule for watering plants might make much difference, but in reality, it can assist whatever preventive steps you take. In the winter and when there is a chance of frost, it is preferable to water plants in the early hours because moist soil actually gets warmer during the day and acts as an insulator.

Cover up with Cloche: A cloche is one of the best solutions if you’re contemplating how to protect plants from frost in the vegetable patch. Frost protection for seedlings and younger plants can be successfully achieved with a cloche. These are bell-shaped covers that can be positioned over the plants and are constructed of glass or plastic. You may also make your own DIY cloches to cover young plants and seeds by cutting off the tops of large water containers or milk containers and laying them on the ground. You can remove them during the day for the plants to soak up warmth and energy.

Cover Them Up: One of the effective ways to protect large plants and shrubs is to cover them up with horticultural fleece. Alternatively, you can also use bubble wrap, large sheets of plastic, or a blanket to create a proper cover. You can place several stakes by your plants and then have them covered with the material of your choice to have a tent-like contraption in place. To ensure it is secure, weigh down the corners so that they don’t blow away. You can remove the cover during the day to enable the plants to soak up sunlight!

At What Temperature Should You Protect Your Plants?

 Various factors like the type of plant and where it is placed will determine the temperature at which you need to cover your plants to protect them from frost. In the winter, 32°F (0°C) is when frost starts forming, which might be a good time to consider protecting your plants. However, frost-sensitive plants might need to be tended from 30°F (-2°C) onwards

What Can You Use to Cover Your Plants?

 You can cover plants with a variety of materials to protect them from frost. While you can buy horticultural fleeces and frost protection items, you can also make do with materials you already have at home. Some of the things you can use are:

Bubble Wrap 

Straw

Wood chips

Towels

Bed sheets and blankets

Newspapers

Leaves

When your plants are well protected from the cold and the harsh elements, they are more likely to see the next season ahead! However, it is important to do due research before you try to protect your plants. Not knowing what you are doing will lead you to make mistakes, which will do your plants more harm than good.

By Manali