Do you love growing plants all over your yard? Then you’re probably wondering how to protect them from the incoming wintry weather.
Warm-loving veggies and flowers can be incredibly vulnerable to frost and sudden temperature drops. Without proper frost defense, your carefully cultivated garden can quickly turn into a cemetery of green popsicles!
But there’s no need to worry. As a fellow plant-aholic, let me show you five of the most effective methods and tips to save your beloved greens from Jack Frost’s icy touch!
1 – Bring Your Potted Plants Indoors
If you only have a handful of potted plants, bringing them indoors is one of the easiest solutions to protect them from the cold.
Think of tender bulb flowers like dahlias, begonias, or freesias. Or delicate tropical florae, such as hibiscus or angel’s trumpets.
Or if you have your veggies potted, you can always share your roof with them whenever the weather turns for the worst.
For tropical plants, keep them where they can still access enough sunlight, such as near windows and doors, and you’re good to go.
2 – Use Plastic Bottle as Covers
But chances are, you don’t have every green in your garden conveniently potted. So, how can you shield veggies and flowers planted on the ground from freezing solid?
If you have a batch of unused plastic bottles, you can turn them into makeshift mini pieces of cloche!
Using a sharp blade, cut the top lower half of the bottles and use them to cover the delicate leaves of young plants.
This method works by creating a mini-greenhouse effect around the flora, trapping the heat and alleviating the temperature come frost.
However, take extra care when setting up the bottles. Don’t let them touch any part of the plant to avoid worsening potential frost damage!
Of course, you may also opt for real cloches for better weather protection. These practical tools usually consist of rigid glass and thick plastic, costing about $20 to $100 a set.
3 – Cover Plants With Fabric Sheets
If you’re on an upcycling kick, you can cover your plants with unused fabric sheets to protect them from freezing.
While it doesn’t sound nearly as effective as a cloche, fabric covering can significantly minimize frost damage by providing a physical barrier between your plants and the cooling air.
Cover your plants with lightweight sheets when the temperature gets close or lower to 32℉. Then, take it down the next morning to allow the flora to warm up.
Towels, blankets, tarps, or cardboard also work if you don’t have enough fabric sheets to cover every resident in your garden.
4 – Mulch Around Your Garden Plants
Mulching is an agricultural technique with several advantages when applied to your garden. It adds much-needed nutrients, prevents soil erosion, suppresses weeds, maintains moisture, and shields your plants from the icy weather.
A good layer of mulch, typically composed of organic materials, will help keep the soil from freezing during cold spells. Mulch does this by regulating temperature and keeping the misty air from penetrating the soil.
The best mulch materials to combat frost are straw, shredded leaves, pine needles, wood chips, or nut hulls. These organics will create the optimal insulation suitable for the climate.
You’ll want to apply 2 to 4 inches of mulch around your trees, vegetables, and perennial beds.
5 – Uproot Your Perennials For the Winter
Tender perennial plants that have already bloomed and are dormant can be lifted and stored to save them from the freezing temperatures.
This process is called overwintering. It allows the plants to survive through the season which would otherwise die from the cold.
Lift tender bulbs like canna, dahlia, and geraniums when their stems have died and dried. You can do the same for tubers and root plants.
Store them accordingly depending on the species. Some plant varieties may need dry, cool storage while others prefer a little soil, sand, or moisture.
Final Thoughts: Choose Your Houseplants Carefully
If you don’t like taking these extra steps to care for plants, you can always opt for flora suitable to your area’s cold climate.
Thankfully, plenty of hardy varieties are more than capable of pulling through extreme weather conditions.
For veggies, prioritize those that can withstand the heaviest of frost. Try planting spinach, onions, leek, rhubarb, broccoli, kale, radish, collards, or cabbages.
For houseplants, think of snowdrops, daffodils, lilies of the valley, or primroses. These are gorgeous masterpieces from nature built for the frosty weather!
Growing up with a mom who filled her home (inside and out) with all sorts of plants, Lisa got her start in gardening at a young age. Living now on her own with a home and yard full of plants (including an indoor greenhouse), she shares all the gardening tips she’s gained over the years.