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In the Greater Houston area, this situation occurs multiple times a year. Uncertainty surrounds the number of hours that overnight temperatures fall below freezing. It’s also unclear if there will be any precipitation, such as a light frost, frozen rain, a little amount of ice, or even snow. As you go to sleep, you worry about what might happen to your garden’s plants.
Naturally, you can bring some plants inside, but it doesn’t make sense to uproot them and pot them for a day—and it’s likely going to cause more harm than good.
You are able to cover them, but with what? Is it wise to use a plastic tarp? What about the leaves you gathered but neglected to put out for collection? Towels? Pillowcases and used sheets?
Alternatively, you might simply take a chance and hope that whatever is growing in your garden can withstand the brief freeze.
It could be more difficult than you think to decide when and how to cover your plants. Every month on the second Monday, we ask Meg Tapp of the Garden Club of Houston for advice on what is or is not growing in yards in the Houston region and why. She gives her best advice on when and how to cover plants, as well as when and how not to, in the audio above.
