Protecting your plants from a late freeze

  The front garden before the storm.

With a historic storm barreling down on a previously warm and sunny Oklahoma, we are told we'll have freezing temperatures for the next two nights.  Oklahoma will quickly rebound due to warm ground temperatures, but in the meantime, it's gonna be a mean time.

Late freezes are the bane of the Oklahoma spring garden experience.  The predicted heavy snow on the ground will further complicate things because it will continue to bring nighttime temperatures down.

So, how do we save our plants from certain dieback? 

Cover, cover, cover. 

• First, you can't cover everything.  Decide which plants need the most help.  In my case, I'll be covering my Japanese maples in the garden out front and a new type of Hydrangea I planted this year. 
• Add to that the dwarf peach trees, the cherry tree, and the apple trees.  With fruit trees you don't get a second chance, and all of these are blooming in my north central Oklahoma garden.  Thirty miles south in Oklahoma City, their trees are already forming tiny fruit, and I heard from a gardening friend in Tulsa that hers have bloomed. 
• I will leave the tough, landscape roses to fend for themselves while covering the climbing roses in back.  Their canes are up in the cold air and are tied against metal arbors.  I also grow bushes of a particular Hybrid Tea which is particularly tender.  They are fully leafed out and will need the extra help.
• I will also cover my newly emerging veggie crops.  If it gets to 20F as is being forecast, the cold will kill even them.  If that happens, I will wait and just plant warm weather crops.  Because it is so late in the season, there isn't time to replant cooler crops like lettuce, peas and spinach.  Therefore, I need to save what I already have in the ground.
• You can purchase floating row covers like these, but if you haven't already, it's too late.  So, use any extra bed sheets you have in your house.  Once the rain stops and the snow slows, place sheets over any tender plants you want to save.  Use clothespins to secure the sheets around the plant providing extra warmth.  If more snow falls, take a broom and sweep the snow off of your covers.  The weight isn't good for the plants.  While you're out there, also sweep heavy snow off of your evergreens. 
• With vegetable plants, I place the sheet on the ground and use stones, bricks or rocks to anchor the sheet into place.  I could use staples, but that would pierce the cloth.  I don't have the commercial metal hoops, but they would be ideal.

I love living and gardening in Oklahoma, but the weather can be quite changeable and challenging especially in March.  Here's hoping you're able to weather the storm and save your own private spring.