How to protect plants from cold and frost?

Although there are many plants that resist cold and frost, the truth is that even they need some protection during their youth and, also, during their first winter in our garden, patio or balcony. Knowing the rusticity of the species we want is very important, but it is highly recommended to bear in mind that the growing conditions in a nursery are not the same as they will have when we buy them and take them home, and this can cause them to weaken in when the temperature drops below 0 degrees.

Starting from this, How to protect plants from cold and frost? What can we do? Fortunately, many, many things.

What are the symptoms of cold on plants?

Before going into the subject, we are going to talk about how to detect that our plant is going cold, since it would not be strange that we were a non-grata surprise with one that we thought would be more rustic than it really is. In fact, even if the seeds come from the same parents and even if they are in the same area and receive exactly the same care, there will always be some ‘child’ more sensitive to cold than another.

Therefore, taking home a somewhat more delicate specimen is quite easy. So that, Let’s see what are the symptoms of cold in plants:

• Green leaves turn purple after a frost
• Appearance of yellow or reddish dots or spots on the leaves
• Leaves that dry quickly after being cold
• Leaves that fold to protect the center of the plant
• The color of the leaves intensifies
• After a snowfall, the leaves and fruits may turn brown and fall

Do you have to prune them?

If you have been told that you have to prune plants that have suffered a frost, take a look at this video:

How to protect them?

Now that we know how plants show that they are cold, it’s time to take some steps to protect them. For that, we can do the following:

Make a mulching or mulching

A mulch is nothing more than a series of materials, organic (compost, bark, wood chips, etc.) or not (stones, gravel), that can be placed on the ground and / or around the plants. It is very useful, since On the one hand, it allows you to save water because the earth stays humid for a longer time; and on the other, it keeps the roots protected from cold and frost.

It has to be done before winter comes. Spread the material or materials you want around the plants, making a more or less uniform pile, and that’s it.

With anti-frost fabric

It is also known as thermal blanket for plants, and it is a very light veil and soft texture that allows air and water to pass through, but also creates a somewhat warmer microclimate by retaining the heat emanating from the ground.

As if that were not enough, it helps protect plants from pests as well as dehydration, and as it supports solar radiation, it can be used more than once. It is also very easy to put on, because you just have to wrap the plant with it as if it were a candy .

Group the plants

It is necessary to allow the plants to have enough space to grow, but keeping this in mind, a very interesting way to protect them from the cold is by grouping them. And it is that, in the same way that in the middle of a forest the temperature is somewhat warmer than outside it, in a garden, patio or terrace we can achieve this same effect.

Align plants, create garden hedges, group them according to your needs, make flower beds. With this, they are sure to make it through winter.

Greenhouse

There are many types and sizes of greenhouses: there are those that look like huts but with plastic or glass walls, those that have a tubular shape that are the ones that are used a lot in orchards, for example, those that look like shelves, … How many plants you have to protect and their size, one greenhouse or another will be more advisable.

Thus, If you are growing exotic or delicate plants, do not hesitate to protect them by making them this type of ‘refuge’ , because inside these the temperature is higher, especially if you equip them with a heating system.

Inside the house

When you have tropical or exotic plants, such as when you buy plants labeled as indoor, a little before the temperature drops below 15 degrees Celsius, they should be protected either in a greenhouse or inside the house or flat.

Put them in a bright room, but away from drafts

(both cold and warm). Also, the ambient humidity is preferable to be somewhat high, so do not hesitate to put containers with water around them. In this way, they will do well.

Cold and frost can do a lot of damage to plants, but we hope these tips will help you keep yours well protected.