I'm anxious to hear this answer, too. They've predicted as low as the mid teens here. I have many with leaves already, many without leaves, but up at least 2-3 inches. I was going to cover mine with pots. I'm also concerned with flowering shrubs that have buds but are not flowering yet.

Make sure you cover the garden before dusk so the heat in the ground is held in by the covering you provide. Don't use plastic sheets. It helps to water the garden so the water transpires into the air around the plant. Make sure you uncover everything in the morning when the temps rise so the ground can warm up again.

Just a few tips but no guarantees. ;)

I might be digging up a few of my beauties and bringing them in. LOL Jade Cascade is unfurling and I can't bear to watch it get hosed!

Cardboard boxes worked great for me a few years ago when this happened. This year I think I'll just let nature take its course and see what happens....

Last night hubby got down all the nursery pots we had in the attic. For some of mine that are further along, we will cover them. For the ones that were still barely emerging, we covered them with mulch. I am hoping the mulch will help insulate them?? Anyone ever tried that before, and if so, did it help??

The gardens now look like some sort of indian burial ground or something, with the little piles of mulch everywhere... Tonight we will put the pots on the bigger ones... I hope my babies don't get frost bitten!! Cardboard box is a great idea... I was trying to think of a way to cover my bleeding heart plant, it is one of my earliest perennials to emerge, and it is just now at it's most beautiful with all the pretty blooms... I might use a cardboard box on it...

Buff

Buff,last month,when most of my hostas were emerging,I covered the smaller ones with just Oak leaves. It worked just fine,but this time,I have a selection of cardboard boxes,and nursery pots,and whatever I can get my hands on! I still won't be able to cover all my plants,as there too many and too far up above ground. We also have peonies way up,and will have to protect them. The weather tonight is supposed to be still above freezing,but tomorrow night,it's Katie bar the door! Also,keep praying it won't be as bad,as this is the latest it has ever been to get cold again,since I've been growing hostas! Phil

LOL @ the indian burial ground - that is funny! My yard looks ridiculous. I went and bought scratch and dent fiberglass and styrofoam planters and am covering my tree peonies with them.

I dug up and potted 25 hostas yesterday and am filling nursery pots w/ mulch and tipping them over the top of anything w/ eyes that are up!

Lots of good ideas here, but is it ok to leave them covered with the mulch and pots for like 4 or 5 days?
They are predicting below freezing night time temps here at least until next Tuesday.

What happened to SPRING???

Janet

They're threatening us with snow this weekend. But none of the hosta eyes have started to pop out of the ground, so I guess they're okay?

Don't they call a late snow a "poor man's fertilizer" because of the high nitrogen content in snow?

Janet, I initially had grand visions of uncovering them during the day and all of this other dumb stuff but after the last hundred or so...IT'S OVER. lol I figure they hide out under the mulch, leaves, etc, for months - they can stand 4-5 more days!

Hi Janet,

Actually, it's not a good idea to leave the plants covered during the day (unless it stays very cold then as well). If the temps heat up to high 40s or low 50s, the plants will be much too warm under the pots or sheets or whatever you choose to cover with, and that would probably be as bad as leaving them uncovered in the frost.

They're even talking about high 20s over the weekend for lows here near Raleigh, NC! I bet I have 150 or more hostas out of the ground already, and half of them probably have leaves opening up. I'm planning to cover the beds with old sheets. Last week I did cover the emerging eyes with old nursery pots, but there are just too many to handle that way, and they have opened up considerably since last week.

~Angie

Worse yet. Wasn't supposed to freeze last night, plus cloudy and windy. Was the latter, but got down to 24. My leafed out Wolverine is now mush. others just starting Will cover tonight fer sure. Would need bricks for nursery pots am afraid.

:( I won't be home this weekend to protect my emerging (some already emerged) babies. I can either place boxes over them Friday afternoon, and remove them on Sunday when I get back into town; or I can leave them uncovered to fend for themselves...

*sigh* It figures that the one weekend we expect a late cold snap is Masters weekend.

Where do my odds lie? To cover for almost 72 hours or to leave open to the elements?

It's only going to be low 40s so they should be fine. I can't imagine that they will cook if they have mulch wrapped around them and it's that cold outside. They handle 90 degree days so I HOPE that they will be ok.

Thirston, I would cover them. But that's just my two cents and I'm a freak who dug up 28 leafed-out hostas and now have them in my kitchen. LOL

Well, we got my babies hunkered down for the cold... there are even a few snow flurries out there. Most of them are just covered with a pile of mulch, but some we covered with nursery pots, cardboard boxes, even a boiling pot from the kitchen cabinet (hubby's idea!). He also had the brilliant idea to use the plant markers (grave markers, as he calls them) to stick through a hole in the nursery pot bottom to help anchor it to the ground.

For your viewing enjoyment, here are a few pics of a couple of my beds.
Buff

P.S. In case anyone was wondering, what looks like a wood deck in the first picture is actually stamped/stained cement.

We had a frost after about 20 of my early birds had begun to unfurl. This year I tried wrapping with terry cloth towels. It helped some but not others. I think the newspaper stuffed inside plastic pots or bowls from the dollar store worked better last spring. Sorry folks. I hope your hostas aren't damaged too much.
Mary

That's what I did. Stuffed a sheet of newspaper inside each nursery pot before setting it over the plant. And yes, we needed rocks, bricks and boards over the pots to hold them down. The wind was ferocious out there.

I couldn't believe how many more eyes have just poked up in that last day and even a couple had started to unfurl a leaf or two.

I will probably uncover tomorrow and perhaps offer a drink, as I'm sure the wind has caused a drying effect.

Cool looking patio Buff! Ours is stamped also, but it looks like stone.

Hope all our hostas stay warm...

Janet

Here in western NC,it was only 36 last night,but for the next 5 days it will be in the 20's at night. It's a lot of work,but I plan on covering most of them every night,and uncovering during the day.Next Tuesday,should be 38,and,hopefully this will be the last. Our last frost date here is Apr.15th. Makes you wonder why we ever got this addicted,doesn't it? I have all my pots,cardboard boxes at the ready for tonight,and keep hoping the weather predictions are off a little! Good luck with your plants ya'll! Phil

For once I'm glad I'm up North. Mine weren't up yet.

I still don't get why they need to be uncovered during the day if they are unfurled or barely unfurled eyes...? It's freezing out there and I thought it would be like they are still underground waiting to come up. No....?

Ademink, I am not uncovering mine until Monday because it is not supposed to get above the low 40's until then here in Indianapolis. From what I've read, they should be uncovered if it gets really warm, but that's not going to happen here.

Ok, my thoughts too - thanks for confirming Lynn! :) I can't believe how cold it is out there! I'm in Indy too, by the way. :) Which side of the city do you hail from?

We're having flurries as I write. Groan. My magnolia is going to turn into a mushy brown mess.

Ademink, if they are covered with mulch, they will be fine to stay covered. I don't even bother any more. I have about a dozen on the south side of my house that come up early every year. Four years in a row now, they have had frost damage.
I'm more upset about the azaela's and magnolia tree. They have just started to bloom, and all of the blooms have fallen off already!

I uncovered mine this morning and none look any worse for the wear. I also gave them a watering because it's still pretty windy again today. It's sunny and about 40, so I'll let them bask in the sun then cover 'em up again before the sun goes down. Of course I don't have a huge number to cover like some of you do.
Some of my other perennials look kind of limp and I suspect after a few more nights of freezing they'll probably be mush.

Janet

Bummer whip1! I actually brought a young Jane magnolia into the kitchen also. LOL Oh...and then there's the flowering almond in the entryway....