WYOMING, Mich. — If you're reading this Friday night, there's good news for you. There's still time to save your plants from the overnight frost, and even if you forget to protect your plants, there's still hope for your garden.
We talked to our green thumb expert Rick Vuyst from Flowerland Greenhouses to get an idea of how to handle this weather.
Knowing what to protect
Before you tear off your bed sheets, know that some plants handle the cold better than others.
"If you have flowering trees or large shrubs in your landscape, it is not practical for a homeowner to try to cover them," Vuyst said.
"Your landscape plants are tough. They’re hardy Michiganders. You’d be amazed at how pansies or peonies or tulips are."
But tomatoes, petunias or any other tender annual plant will need your attention.
"Really the area you’re going to have to focus is if you have any plants that you have purchased. If you have purchased them and you have put them in the ground, you’re going to have to cover them. If you’ve purchased them and you can bring them inside, bring them in," Vuyst said.
Soil temperatures right now are around 60 degrees two inches deep. Vuyst says that means your lawn is going to be fine. Unfortunately, though, so are the weeds in your lawn.
How the frost affects your plants
Vuyst says what a frost will do to your plants really depends on how cold it gets, and how long it stays that cold.
"When we get into the 20 to 29 degree range, that’s when serious damage occurs," he said.
"Let's say we’re there for more than 30 minutes or just before sunrise, but rather for two, three, or four hours. That’s where you’re going to see some real damage. For the general homeowner, those landscape plants are tough. They’re going to survive. They may be knocked back. They may be scarred, but they will rebound. We’ve done this before.
"Some of the extent of the damage in the landscape, let’s say for example hostas that have just unfurled, is going to be contingent on how many hours the frost lasts tonight and addition to that what kind of frost is it."
Vuyst has a guide on his blog on what kinds of frost causes what kind of damage to what kinds of plants.
Don't be discouraged
Vuyst says digging in the dirt is therapeutic and that soil has antidepressant qualities, so if you've picked this as a hobby to get you through quarantine you may be on the right path.
But let's say you're reading this Saturday morning and it's already too late to save the impatiens you planted. That doesn't mean you should stop trying.
"I’m also a person who has always said if you haven’t killed any plants, you haven’t tried hard enough. It’s kind of a trial and error thing," Vuyst said.
Related stories:
►Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the 13 ON YOUR SIDE app now.
Have a news tip? Email news@13onyourside.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter. Subscribe to our YouTube channel.
