How Do I Protect My Plants and Trees from Freezing Temperatures in Winter?
When the weather outside is not so delightful, there are many ways to keep your garden delightful. Colder weather means additional care to help your plants remain healthy and to thrive in the season. This also means shielding your plants from frost.
Frosts in late fall and early winter also happen at night when temperatures are low and outside air is saturated, or have high relative humidity, with moisture. Freezing can be tough on some of the plants in your garden. Fortunately there are many ways to help ensure that your frost-intolerant plants make it through unscathed.
What types of plants need protection?
When temperatures fall below 40˚F, plants that require a little extra protection should be given just that. While not all plants need frost protection, (c.f. the cold-hardy plants described below), there are many fragile or sensitive plants that do.
These are:
- Annual plants that fruit and flower in warm temperatures
- Potted and balcony plants
- Young plants, including young vegetables
- Greenhouse-grown plants, or plants purchased from a garden center in spring or summer
- Indoor houseplants of tropical varieties
- Some trees that are fruit-bearing
- Rose beds
- Any plants that are hardy in winter zone 6 or higher
Here are some suggestions for frost protection to help keep your garden growing as long as possible.
The Best Winter Plant Protection
Of course, the simplest way to avoid frost damage to plants is to plant those that are tolerant to cold. Besides being a nice seasonal decoration for your yard, these plants need almost no care and no additional winter protection.
The Frost Proof Gardenia, for instance, is an ideal choice for an area that is generally warm but occasionally gets frost during the cold months. Indeed, its fragrant, snowy white flowers are proof of this, as they hold true with frost.
Because of their larger size, most warm-season trees are more difficult to cover in winter for protection. There’s no need for additional care, though, if you choose a cold-tolerant tree such as Blue Wonder Colorado Spruce. Don’t underestimate the instant dimension gray-blue leaves can bring to a landscape, and low maintenance will make you worry-free.
If you’re in search of more privacy in your yard rather than a large screen or perhaps even just for a single accent tree, the Nellie Stevens Holly Tree can also be a low-maintenance and cold-tolerant option. It is beautiful year-round and in winter it is covered with tons of bright red berries for some seasonal color.
And if you’d like to keep a little color on your walkway or garden beds in chilly weather, the Dense Yew produces tons of vibrant green foliage that are a beautiful backdrop for other plants all year long.
Additional Methods for Protecting Plants from Frost
Cover any plants that love the heat and are planted outdoors. Frost cloth specifically made for this purpose can be obtained, as can objects you find around your home, such as plastic jugs, cardboard boxes, bedspreads, blankets or large towels.
Regardless of the material used to cover the plants, make sure that the coverings are not tightly wrapped around the plants and form a small insulation dome that reaches all the way to the ground. If you think winds could be an issue, place a brick/rock on top of the covering grounded. Remove at midday and re-apply at night prior to frost.
Bring your containers inside. This may sound like common sense but bring any nursery container inside temporarily until the threat of frost is over.
Give your plants plenty of water. Heat storage potential is four times greater in moist soil compared to dry soil. The compacted, moist earth surfaces will radiate more energy during the day and retain that heat during the night to prevent frost. But it is always advisable to take additional coverage for more protection.
Mulch for insulation. Small stout plants that require additional winter protection can also be heavily mulched or have shredded bark applied around them. Ensure to cover the plant prior to cold weather and uncover it after the climate warms again.
Fall doesn’t have to signal a barren yard. But, there are many plants to consider that will require less maintenance, and that can easily be substituted for some of your existing plants and added to your landscape that tolerate cold.
