03/15/2026
Updates/Results in comments!
Temps could drop as low as 14°F Monday night. This will damage tender flowers, foliage, and buds. CAUTION: these temps are so low even steps to protect plants might not work. It will depend on the cold tolerance of the plant and how “awake” they are.
👇 What to expect + what you can do👇
🌱 1. Leafed Out Perennials
• To try to prevent damage you can cover entirely with a *thick* layer of mulch
• Especially important for HOSTAS poking up!!! If the spires of hostas freeze now their foliage may look tattered all season.
• If perennials do get damaged don’t worry, plants will most certainly survive, damage will be aesthetic. Most perennials will push a second flush of growth.
🏡2. Budding Woody Shrubs that bloom on NEW wood
• To try and prevent damage you can cover with a blanket/insulated sheet
• If left uncovered, don’t worry! Plants will most certainly survive and will push a second flush of growth.
• They may bloom a few weeks later, but are expected to bloom.
🏡3. Budding Woody Shrubs that bloom on OLD wood
• To try and prevent damage you can cover with a blanket/insulated sheet with Christmas lights (not LEDs) under the blanket for a touch of warmth.
• If uncovered, plants will survive but may not bloom this year 😢Looking at you Big Leaf Hydrangeas (pink/blue kind)!
• The buds that have started to break on these shrubs contain the baby flowers for this year. If that tissue freezes the flowers for this year perish.
🪻4. Flowering Bulbs
• To try to prevent damage you can cover with a blanket/sheet.
• Open flowers will fade but foliage may survive.
🌳 5. Flowering Trees
• Because these can’t be feasibly covered, there’s really nothing you can do to protect these blooms. Blooms will fade.
• The trees will survive without much impact to their health.
✅ Final Tips!
• Moist soil acts as an excellent insulator and holds heat much better than dry soil.
• Secure sheets and blankets well as strong gusts of winds are also expected.
• Fertilize with a slow release all purpose fertilizer when all threats of freeze have passed in late spring to feed plants that used lots of energy to put on a second flush of growth.
Stay warm, gardeners! Questions? Drop them in the comments below! 👇
