Expert advice on protecting plants during cold weather

JACKSON, Tenn. — As the weather drops, here is some expert advice for protecting plants during cold weather.

If you have indoor plants right against the window, you might want to pull them back a bit. For plants in the garage, bring them into the house or run a little heater. If you have winter veggies or plants that may not be well rooted in, you can cover them to keep them a little warmer and keep wind off.

When covering a plant, the structure should not touch the plant and avoid plastic, use fabric.

If there’s heavy snow, you can take a broom and slightly knock the snow off plants — particularly evergreens to keep the branches from breaking.

“If we do get ice, you want to be careful if you’re using salt, particularly around your sidewalks and driveways. If the salt runs off into your landscape, it can harm the plants so there are products out there that are safe for your landscape so look for those as opposed to salt products for removing the ice from areas,” said Jason Reeves, horticulturist for UT Gardens – Jackson.

Reeves went on to encourage everyone not to go overboard trying to protect plants as most plants here should be accustomed to the climate.

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