Remember, they are an investment and contribute to the overall value and beauty of your home, too. As mentioned earlier, watering plants several hours before a freeze is the first defense against damage. During a temporary cold snap, cover entire shrubs with burlap, sheets or blankets for insulation.
For larger shrubs, drive a few stakes into the ground around the plant in fall. Wrap the stakes with burlap or canvas cloth. Never use plastic; it can cause damaging temperature fluctuations. For smaller shrubs, a plant cover is a simple solution.
Know Your Plants' Cold Tolerance
Some frost-tender plants need to be covered as soon as the temperature hits 32°F, while others can handle lower temperatures and/or longer freezing periods. You'll need to look up each of your plants to verify its cold tolerance.
Use stakes or another support to keep the covering from directly touching the plants. Covering plants helps protect them from a freeze because it helps retain heat radiating from the soil and keeps them warm overnight.
If it stays cold for more than one night, can I keep my plants covered, or should I remove the coverings at some point? A. Our recommendation would be to remove the cold protection covering once temperatures are above 32 degrees.
Answer: Newly emerged tree and shrub foliage is susceptible to damage from below freezing temperatures. The new growth on many trees and shrubs can tolerate temperatures in the low 30s and upper 20s. Freeze damage is most likely when temperatures drop into the middle 20s or below.
Winter is usually the best time.
If you live in an area with distinct winters, the time when shrubs have lost their leaves and become dormant is an excellent time to prune them. Without the leaves, you can easily see the branching structure of the shrub and decide what to cut.
You may wonder how to protect plants from frost when they are planted in the ground? One method – which is useful for larger garden plants and shrubs – is to cover them with horticultural fleece. You could use blankets or bubble wrap, too, to create a protective cover.
Cover Plants – Protect plants from all but the hardest freeze (28°F for five hours) by covering them with sheets, towels, blankets, cardboard or a tarp. You can also invert baskets, coolers or any container with a solid bottom over plants. Cover plants before dark to trap warmer air.
Once temperatures drop below 40°F, you may want to start covering your plants with a frost blanket depending on what you're growing, which we'll get into in just a bit. Freeze – A freeze is when the air temperature is 32°F or below.
So, keep an eye out for your local weather forecast and get your plant coverings ready when temperatures are forecast to dip to 32 degrees F and below.
If you can wait until all the leaves have fallen, you will allow the trees and shrubs the ability to have better structure and strength to make it through the winter to next spring without any damage. So, put your pruners away for another month or two and let plants go completely dormant.
A covered porch usually provides protection from light frost, but the garage or sun room is better for freezing temperatures. A couple days in darkness won't hurt the plant. Or move them out during the day and back in at night, if cold temperatures persist.
Add a Layer of Mulch
Mulch is a garden miracle-worker any time of year and an important part of winter care. Think of mulch like a blanket protecting the garden during the winter months. A common winter problem is heaving or uplift of soils caused by freeze-thaw cycles.
From that experience, I've found the best frost protection for your outdoor plants is either free or cheap. Cardboard boxes and brown grocery sacks make perfect frost cover and at the end of the season can be recycled. I keep various boxes on the patio and when frost is forecast simply put one over the plant.
DON'T prune during fall.
This can weaken and damage the plant—especially if there's an early frost.
Mild fall weather may have you thinking about pruning shrubs and trees. But it's better to wait till late winter, or, at least, after leaves have fallen. Fall isn't the right time to prune trees and shrubs. There are good reasons to wait till late winter or after the plants' leaves have fallen.
Spring flowering shrubs and trees.
Shrubs and trees like lilacs, azaleas, and others will grow best when they are pruned right after they flower in the spring. Avoid pruning them in the winter as it may stunt their growth.
ANSWER: If the weather has been dry, it is important to thoroughly water your landscape plants before a freeze occurs. Plants that are drought-stressed often suffer more injury during freezes; however, watering does not actually provide any protection to tender plants.
Keeping your plants healthy and happy year round also helps reduce winter damage. Keep in mind that newly planted shrubs and trees might experience more freeze damage than older, healthy plants with a more established root system. Plants in pots are more susceptible to damage than ones planted in the ground.
Snow that is left sitting on shrubs can make them misshapen and unsightly. And heavy snow or ice on trees can cause limbs to break or also affect the overall aesthetic shape and appearance of the tree.
Fabric coverings will prevent the freezing air from coming into direct contact with the moisture on the plant while also capturing the heat that is radiating from the ground. Bed sheets or comforters work best for covering large plants and shrubs.