Freeze Warning Issued: Bundle Up Your Plants

The National Weather Service has issued a freeze warning for Orange in New Haven county as well as for southern Fairfield, Middlesex and New London counties for the early part of Friday morning from 3 a.m. to 8 a.m.

According to the National Weather Service, a "freeze warning" means below freezing temperatures are imminent or highly likely. Temperatures are expected to dip into the low 30s, which can have a hazardous impact on sensitive crops and vegetation. 

The Gardening Know How website offered the following tips on how to protect plants from frost damage.

• Cover your plants and flowers with old blankets, sheets or burlap sacks. Drape the covering loosely and secure it with stakes, rocks or bricks, especially with the high winds forecasted for this evening.

• Remove the covers once the sun comes out the following morning; otherwise, the plants may suffocate.

• Water your plants a day or two before the frost is expected. Wet soil holds more heat than dry soil. Don't saturate the plants while the temperatures are extremely low, otherwise frost heave occurs. Light watering in the evening hours, before temperatures drop, will help raise humidity levels and reduce frost damage, according to Gardening Know How.

• Mulch helps lock in moisture and holds in heat when the temperatures drop.

• Raised beds also help protect plants against frost damage.