Boxwood 'Green Mountain' and Boxwood 'Schmidt' are both cold-hardy evergreen shrubs that grow from USDA hardiness zones 5 to 8. They make beautiful, fine-textured, low borders or medium-height privacy hedges that hold their green color through the winter. And are the perfect freeze tolerant shrubs for Texas.
Plants to move inside: Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and others that will not survive frost. Plants to cover: Potatoes, radishes, spinach, leaf lettuce, beets, mustard. Plants that do not need to be covered: Onions, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, turnips, kale.
The easiest way to protect from a freeze is simply by covering plants with a sheet or a blanket. This acts like insulation, keeping warm air from the ground around the plant.
Protect Plants from Late Spring Freeze.
Hardy plants such as daylilies, hosta, peonies, lily-of-the-valley will survive a late spring frost, but they will be out of commission until warmer weather returns. These are perfect times to replace them with frost-resistant plants.
1. ZZ Plant. Alternatively known as the Arum Fern, the ZZ Plant is an iconic houseplant that is best known for its bright, green foliage. The defining quality of this plant, however, is the fact that it can withstand any degree of winter cold.
Most plants prefer a temperature of no less than 60° F, though many can tolerate as low as 40° F. Along with this, while the improper temperature can certainly be an issue, fluctuations in temperature are the true killer. Learn the ideal temperatures for your green friends so they can be healthier and happier.
How to cover your plant: keeping them warm in winter. Placing cardboard boxes, large trash cans, or even plastic tubs over outdoor plants will provide some protection for sensitive plants, she explained. When covering plants, it's key to cover them from the ground up.
Cold-hardy plants
Evergreens add a sense of permanency to the garden. Those that take hot and cold include azaleas, boxwood, camellias, wax myrtle, Chinese mahonia, cephalotaxus, cleyera, cryptomeria, Indian hawthorn, junipers, ligustrum, loropetalum, various viburnums, hollies (trees and shrubs), yew and roses.
Rosemary and sage are classic herbs for colds and sore throats. Both are known for their antimicrobial and antiviral properties.
Early spring blooming flowers like crocus, snowdrop, and primrose can all survive the winter, and pansies are especially resilient. Violas, hostas, heuchera, irises, lily of the valley, cyclamen, and phlox also tolerate frost and provide some visual interest, as do catmint, baptista, sedum, and peonies.
Most evergreen conifers, however, that have a strong central leader, such as: Japanese red-cedar (Cryptomeria); fir (Abies); spruce (Picea); and cedar (Cedrus) can be covered in snow without it causing a serious effect.
Maintaining a regular watering schedule for potted evergreens is an essential step in proper winter care. While the growth rate of evergreens slows significantly during the winter, they don't go dormant like their deciduous counterparts, so they still require consistent moisture to keep their needles green.
One option is to bury the container. An excellent way for home gardeners to over-winter container-grown trees and shrubs is to dig holes in a garden area and set the pots in the ground. Plants overwintered in containers should be heeled into the ground after they go dormant but before the soil freezes.
Planters made from modern substances, like fibreglass, fiberstone, and non-porous plastic composites can safely remain outside over winter. Fiberstone planters are made from a mix of limestone and fibreglass, which forms a material that looks like stone but weighs a fraction of the natural material.
Take Special Precautions for Potted Plants
To protect them, you can wrap the pots in an insulating material (think burlap, old blankets, or even bubble wrap), place them close to the foundation of your house, and arrange them close together. You can also put a layer of mulch over them for added protection.
Be creative when it comes to choosing plants that will overwinter in your region. Dwarf evergreens are great for containers or you can use small plants and move them into your garden in the spring. Try junipers, arborvitae, False cypress, Japanese yew, spruces, flowering heaths and heathers and boxwoods.
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.
Perennials. The newly emerged growth of most perennials can tolerate temperatures in the low 30s and upper 20s °F. This includes many early emerging perennials such as bleeding heart, daylily, catmint, and columbine. In most cases, early leaf growth on these plants will be just fine with cold temperatures.