Unfortunately it looks like we have another cold night in store for us! Forecasters are predicting temperatures to fall below freezing tonight into Tuesday morning. If you have potted plants that can easily be moved, bring them inside your garage, shed or basement overnight.
For larger landscape plants that can’t be moved, you may be able to protect them by covering them. Before tucking your plants in for the night, give them a drink; carefully add water to the soil around your plants - not the leaves. Damp soil holds heat better than dry soil and well-watered plants are more resilient to cold damage. Plants can then be gently covered with breathable fabric such as a sheet or blanket. Use stakes to prop up the fabric so it creates a tent-like structure and doesn’t crush your plants. Allow the fabric to drape all the way to the ground so you can trap heat from the ground and use rocks or bricks to weigh it down. This extra layer will help keep heat in and the frost off. Just be sure to remove the covers by mid-morning when temperatures rise so plants don‘t overheat.
Individual plants can be covered with a cloche. Traditionally cloches were made of glass, but they can be anything you have around the house - from empty milk jugs with the bottoms cut off to upside down buckets, trash cans and bushel baskets.
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