How to Protect your Florida Plants during a Freeze

Are you prepared to protect sensitive plants during occasional Florida freezes in fall and winter? If you want to save your plants, keep a close watch on weather reports. Predictions of frost mean to get your supplies ready and take needed action before nightfall. Vulnerable potted plants can be temporarily moved indoors to a shed or garage, though small potted plants should be brought inside your home.

For protective cloth or “frost blankets,” you can visit Cypress Creek Landscape Supply in Tampa. We have everything needed to keep your landscape healthy, beautiful, and protected. More tips for protecting your plants during a freeze are below.

Ways to Protect Sensitive Plants During a Freeze

It’s not often that the National Weather Service will predict that central Florida can expect temperatures of 32º F or below, but it has become more common over the past decade or so. There are various ways to take care of sensitive plants, including the following:

• Add extra mulch around sensitive plants. The mulch helps to trap the soil’s heat.
• Cover plants with frost blankets. These are winter protection clothes available at Garden Centers such as Cypress Creek Landscape Supply.
• In lieu of frost blankets, you can use common household supplies such as blankets, sheets, cardboard, newspapers, and other similar material to cover the plants.
• Create a greenhouse type of environment for your sensitive plants by using a glass-topped cold frame to protect them.
• Use cloches. A cloche is a small translucent cover that protects outdoor plants during a freeze. Small plants should be covered in the afternoon so that the warmth trapped inside can help the plants survive a freeze. For tender plants in beds, plastic gallon milk jugs can be cut and used as a homemade version of a cloche.

Things to Avoid when Caring for Plants During a Freeze

• If you’re unsure about which of your plants should be covered, don’t fail to do some research or contact experts for advice.
• Don’t leave covers over the plants for more than a couple or three days.
• Never cover plants with plastic because there is no breathability. Plastic prevents air, water, and sunlight from filtering through, and it can kill plants.
• If any plants become frost-damaged, hold off on pruning until there is no more risk of freezing weather for the season. If you were to cut the plants and then another freeze was to come along, the plant could be killed by the combined shock of pruning and freezing.

Example of Plants to Cover Before a Freeze

If you have any plants that you’ve recently planted, it’s a good idea to protect them from frost. They may be hearty varieties, but it takes a while for plants to become well-established when newly planted.

A few examples of plants to cover during a frost include citrus, fuchsia, bougainvillea, succulents, salvia, hibiscus, jasmine, tree ferns, and penstemon.

Contact Cypress Creek Landscape Supply

Stop by Cypress Creek Landscape Supply, located at 12734 N. Florida Avenue, for protective supplies for your plants. We strive to keep an inventory of every essential in Florida landscaping so that we can be your one-stop Garden Center. Our bulk supplies include a nice selection of mulch. We offer red mulch, shredded cypress mulch, cypress chip mulch, and various sizes of pine bark. For a huge variety of Florida-friendly plants and all the supplies for landscaping, stop by or call Cypress Creek Landscape Supply today at (813) 933-7944.