Bundle Up Your Plants!

Large Plastic Container over New Herb Plants

There's no other way to say this - if you've planted ANY NEW transplants the past couple of weeks, they would greatly benefit from covering the next few nights. If you don't protect them the risk of delayed, unhappy growth or death is certain. Your choice.

The short list of plants include vegetable starts like tomatoes, peppers, tomatillo and ornamental annuals like geraniums, petunias, marigolds. Same for perennials, including herbs. ANYTHING newly planted needs protection. The exceptions are trees and most shrubs, they should be just fine if they had been growing outside when you planted them.

Why cover? These newby plants haven't established their root systems and many have been growing in warm, humid, greenhouse conditions. They simply cannot take the abrupt weather changes of cold rain and snow.

Transplants in Garage

Bring all non-planted transplants indoors.

Avoid placing plastic directly over the plant if the plastic will be touching the foliage. Plastic materials will conduct cold directly to the plant. The container in the photo above is much wider and taller than the new herbs below, so no risk of transferring any cold. The open side drainage holes won't allow enough cold to hurt the plants. 

Other items for cover - cardboard boxes (plastic on top may prevent the box from collapsing in heavy rain/snow), clothes basket, again cover with plastic if sides are open, garbage cans. Floating row cover is ideal to keep plants warm. A bed sheet will suffice in a pinch or beach towels. Sheets, old shower curtains and towels may bog down in heavy conditions so try to support them with a tomato cage or similar. Be sure to remove covering when we're back in the 50s the day after the weather event. Cover again with dried out materials when nights are in the 40s.

Peony Cage over Annual Geraniums

Floating Row Cover over Peony Cage

Clear Plastic OVER Floating Row Cover for Extra Warmth & Protection