GREENSBORO, N.C. — Even though it's almost May, a late-season cold snap has us worrying again about a frost in the Piedmont. Freezing temperatures are possible both Thursday morning and Friday morning. If you don't protect your sensitive plants, they could be damaged or even killed.
The WFMY News 2 Weather Team is expecting low temperatures on Thursday morning in the 31-36° range. On Friday morning, temperatures will fall to the 30-35° range. Depending on where you live, frost may develop.
These temperatures are near record lows. "We just don't typically see temperatures this low at the tail end of April." says WFMY News 2 Chief Meteorologist Tim Buckley. "It's not unheard of, but it is unusual."
A Freeze Warning is in effect. This late in the spring season, that can be very damaging to fruit trees, crops, and sensitive plants and flowers.
So, what do you do to avoid having dead plants? There are plenty of options.
- Water your plants first: Watering your plants during the day before a cold night can help them stay warmer overnight. The warmth from the water helps.
- Cover them with fabric: This is key. Using some fabric like a sheet or burlap will help to insulate the plants a bit when the temperatures get cold. Fabric is preferred to plastic.
- Take fabric off quickly: Do not leave the fabric on much after sunrise. You can damage your plants easily if the sun "cooks" them too much.
Here are a few additional tips to protect plants from freezing temperatures:
- Use frost blankets: Frost blankets, widely available at garden centers and home improvement stores like Home Depot and Lowe's, are used to protect delicate foliage from frost. If you can't find a frost blanket, a bed sheet or piece of burlap will do the trick. You go out and cover the foliage with this material at night, and take it off in the morning. It doesn't look pretty, but it keeps your plants protected when the temperatures dip at night.
- Hang lights to keep foliage warm: It's officially the holiday season. You might want to consider hanging holiday lights on your trees and bushes. The heat emitted from the bulbs can actually keep the leaves and branches warm. And if you have those old, giant bulbs lying around, hang them up! The bigger the bulb, the more heat it will let off, and the more effective it will be. The newer LED lights, however, won't do much at all.
- Water plants and trees: The roots are still active in the winter and need water to survive, so don't neglect them. You want to keep the soil moist and feed the roots. You do not want to water the foliage. You're going to freeze the foliage and it will die.
- Spread mulch to insulate roots: In addition to watering, it's a good idea to spread mulch on the ground around the roots. Spreading mulch is like putting a comforter around the roots -- it insulates the soil and warms it during the winter months. Mulch retains soil heat and keeps it from escaping, which in turn protects root systems. Besides, it's a great idea to spread new mulch once a year, so the winter is a good time to do that. Light mulch will reflect the heat, dark mulch will absorb it.
- Pruning shears: You see these? Put them away! Do not prune any of the foliage -- dead, alive or damaged -- on your shrubs or trees. Dead leaves and branches can like mulch help to shelter the roots from the harsh winter conditions. The more plants you have around, the more they will protect each other. All the dead leaves and such on the ground will create microclimates, which add yet another layer of protection from the harsh weather.