When it Comes to FROST, Know These Three Things
Tender babies don’t like to feel the cold burn of a chilly night. If you want to save your plants, you have to take action! These tips can help keep your plant babies cozy enough to be tough, hold onto hope and pull through.
Water Well
Believe it or not, moist soil is good for roots and foliage when the temperature drops. Under a blanket of cover, the watered soil will insulate the root system and radiate some heat to preserve the foliage and flowers. Water the afternoon before, as temperatures are still above freezing.
Cover Up
Cover plants before the temperature drops with a light cloth sheet. Tent the sheet up by placing a few stakes around the plant to keep from crushing the leaves and flowers, and let it hang. Do not tie it around the stems–the ground needs to be able to send heat into the air under that sheet.
Any light sheet, pillowcase, or large towel you have will do the job as long as it completely covers the plant and has a few inches of overhang. Frost blankets are widely available online…and they are the best.
Never use plastic! Plastic will surely damage or kill your plants as it traps the cold underneath. No Bueno. Don’t do it.
Leave your plants covered up until the temperatures rise a few degrees above freezing. Water them again to knock off the cold from foliage and flowers and soak the roots. Look for any ill effects. Deadhead any spent blooms, and trim off any darkened stems. This will stimulate the plant to send energy from the roots and heal quickly.
Think Ahead
Plan for frost long before its due date, just in case. It’s coming! When considering what to plant in your planter, consider including some frost-hardy babies among your more tender plants. Here at Rooted Happiness, we always like to design our autumn planters to tuck some trendy, tender plants in with more hardy, frost tolerant.
Knowing the weather forecast is part of the game when it comes to keeping plants. A quick online search will clue you into when the first frost date is anticipated to be in your planting zone. Just another way to stay in tune with your plants and enjoy the beauty of nature!