Austin weather: How to protect plants against freezing temperatures

AUSTIN, Texas - Local nurseries are urging residents to prepare their plants for a second round of frigid conditions tonight.

"If you want to save your plants, if it is precious, bring it in," said Tillery Street Plant Company Greenhouse Manager, Melissa Hagen-Wilson. "I cannot stress that enough, because I have got multiple messages from people this week of their melted plants and stories of people crying tears, so if you really love it make space inside for it."

Tillery Street Plant Company is leading by example. Hundreds of plants are covered outdoors, and even more are being held in greenhouses and out of the frigid temperatures.

"When it is going to be this cold you really have to bring a lot of things in," Hagen-Wilson said.

Hagen-Wilson says as temperatures are expected to drop, so are the survival chances of plants if not properly protected.

"They melt. A lot of succulents, the water in the cells freezes, and it explodes out of the plant. Essentially, it just looks like a melted plant," she said. "Other plants that are more hardy might just have some damage around the sides. They might look a little bit of this frost-burned type of whitish, yellow color. A lot of plants that make it through the freeze, they will be fine, and they'll grow back."

The green house manager says, it is recommended to use a freeze cloth or blanket, make sure the plant is covered from top to bottom, and place a heavy weight on the bottom of the cover to make sure that it does not blow away, and do not use plastic coverings. 

"You can use pine straw to mulch things. Mulching is really important when we get this cold weather," Hagen-Wilson said. "You bundle everything up around it, and then you can cover it."

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According to Tillery Street Plant Company, the sub-freezing temperatures can impact vegetable gardens and vines as well. 

"Olive trees will die to the roots; star jasmine is another one that is a really popular vine that everyone uses and that will die back to the roots. But most years it is just an evergreen plant," Hagen-Wilson said. "A lot of herbs are very cold hearty, not all of them, not rosemary, but things like chamomile, cilantro and parsley and lavender. They are fairly cold hearty, you might want to cover them."