Frost Dates: Protecting your Flowers and Plants from Frost

Frost Dates

The last frost in winter until the first frost in fall is considered the growing season. Growing seasons are different for every region.

Click here to find out the frost dates for your city/state (Canadian city/province frost date info also) or contact your local county extension service or a local nursery. They will be able to give you your last frost date which is the last date it’s expected to frost in the spring and your first frost date, the first date that is expected to frost in the fall. Just remember these dates are approximate. Depending on the weather conditions in your region, frost dates can vary from year to year. So use these dates as a guideline.

Frost and Freeze

Frost occurs when the temperature reaches 32 degrees and water vapor freezes on a surface. It will usually occur on a clear night when heat radiates up from the ground. Water vapor condenses and tiny ice crystals form.

Freeze occurs when the temperature drops below 32 degrees for a long period of time. A hard freeze is usually when the temperature is 25 degrees or below.

Be prepared to cover your flowers and plants should an unseasonably frost occur. You can cover your plants with row covers or with items you may have around your home, like cloth, plastic or paper. If it’s going to be extremely cold, try to drape the cover over your plants and flowers without the cover touching them . Placing a layer of mulch will also help hold the heat to protect your plant from the cold.

Shop for row covers:

Gardensalive.com offers two types of row covers:

Heavyweight Row Covers
Protects crops down to 24°F! Almost three times thicker than our regular floating row covers

Floating Row Covers
Floating row covers protect plants from frost, while letting in sunlight, water and air.

More About Frost

courtesy, Windowbox.com

When it freezes, plants are likely to be damaged by the drastic temperature change. So, how do you protect your plants so that the frost does not hurt their leaves, stems, and roots?

Well, there are several options. If you have room, and your plants are in containers, you may bring them in the house, but beware of the difference in temperature, possible decrease in natural light, the drier air, and possible need for a bit more water than outside.

If you cannot bring your garden indoors, you can shelter it in several ways. Placing covers over plants, such as plastic bags (small ventilation holes needed!) and adding mulch to the top layer of soil around their base will help insulate them.

Another option is to create a tee-pee type of structure around them. Do this by placing a few dowels in a tee-pee shape over the plant, leaving it enough room to stand, and covering the dowels with fabric or chicken wire and mossy material. Any structure like this will insulate the plant and protect its leaves, stems, and hopefully roots, from freezing and dying.

A third option is to cover the plants and increase the air circulation around them, by adding a fan. Sometimes, vineyards will use larger fans to blow warmer air over their grapevines so that frost cannot settle on the plants. This option can get expensive, though!

Perhaps the best option is to prevent frost from settling on plants in the first place and, thus, prevent damage. Keep and eye on the weather and plan ahead to protect your plants!