How NOT to Protect Landscape Plants from Freeze
A Hard freeze is coming up Monday night and will effect Kansas City Landscaping plants for sure. However, I wanted to help people see HOW to protect the plants. When you put a cover over the plant it needs to go all the way down to the ground and preferably be staked to provide air flow around plants of 1 –2 inches.
The reason is, by covering the plant you are holding in latent heat from the ground and sheltering from the wind.
This person, who I came upon my walk yesterday, had NOT done that. She did everything wrong. First she used plastic – a terrible insulator and second she didn’t help the plant out at all because the air in the bag is going to be just as cold as the air outside of the bag. To cover this plant well she should have places something over the plant that would have gone all the way to the ground. This would have helped keep the temperature around the plant just a couple degrees warmer and protected it from the blast of cold air we received.
Excuse the poor picture please – it was taken with a camera phone while holding a three year old and being pulled by a dog in a 30 mph wind.
 | Published on April 6th, 2009 | Posted by Jeff Hamons |
April 6th, 2009 at 2:54 pm
This is really great information. Thanks for posting!
April 6th, 2009 at 3:04 pm
Thanks for this info — linked to you off of the NBC website. I presume that the info you provide here applies mainly to perennials? Does it do any good for me to try this with my small trees or smaller bushes?
Thanks – Leslie
April 6th, 2009 at 3:46 pm
It can be tough to effectively cover shrubs. But … worth a try. onw way to do it cover with a blanket and put christmas lights under the blanket to add warmth!
November 17th, 2010 at 10:06 pm
Arizona doesn’t really see this problem too often, except for up North, but most of the trees are pretty well adapted to the climate.