Garden Talk: How to Protect Plants When Forecast Threatens Frost

What should you protect in a spring frost or freeze?

There is a lot of confusion of what needs to be covered and what does not. What you need to cover depends on if it is early or late spring, whether it is an established plant in your yard or a recently planted annual.  

Established trees and shrubs will not be killed by low temperatures. They just might get a natural pruning. Early April low temps can ruin the beautiful blooms of the flowering trees and shrubs you have been waiting to enjoy all winter. For example, any in-bloom Rhododendron, Azalea, or Magnolia are at risk. If you want to take no chance on losing the flowers—cover them. 

The later in the spring you get (end of April and early May), in addition to the open flowers, the tender new growth of plants is a little further along and risk a light pruning by Mother Nature. 

Japanese Laceleaf Maples are a good example of something you might choose to cover. The new growth often gets nipped by a late freeze. Since they are so slow growing, you might not want to risk losing a year's growth.

If you took advantage of the warm temperatures in March and planted annual flowers and cold-tolerant veggies, you defiantly want to cover them any time the temperature drops into the low 30s. A freeze or heavy frost will have you starting all over! 

You can cover with just about anything but plastic. If plastic is resting on the plant it will freeze and damage the plant. A couple layers of sheets, burlap, blankets , etc., are good for protecting the plants.  

You can also invest in yard and garden light-weight cloth, commonly known as row cover or harvest guard. It is easy to use, comes in all sizes and is very light. The best thing is it save it from year to year. You can also use it in the fall to extend the growing season of your vegetable garden. (It traps in heat and moisture.)

So, take a walk around your yard and decide what you want to protect. And quickly: There is a freeze watch the next two nights.

Garden Talk is a weekly column by Laurie Curl, of . Got questions about your garden needs? Email them to Laurie at hahnnursery@aol.com and she'll answer them each week!