Help your plants beat the freeze: 5 ways to protect plants during cold snap

With Mother Nature’s changing moods altering temperatures from near-summer to bitter winter in a matter of days, blooming flowers and garden plants are vulnerable.

The National Weather Service predicts a low of 25 degrees on Saturday night, cold enough to zap tender plants with a few hours of exposure.

Here are five ways to help them survive:

* Bring them indoors. Plants in pots and buckets can be brought inside to stay toasty and warm.

* Cover them up. A blanket or upturned bucket or other container can help plants weather a few hours below 30 degrees.

* Apply mulch. Shredded compost, hay or shredded bark helps. Applied to the ground it insulates the roots, or go wild and cover the plant but remove after warm weather returns.

* Turn on the hose. Water applied to the soil prior to the onset of cold weather will provide protection because wet soil holds more heat and conducts heat to the plant. Just don’t overdo it as saturated soil can cause damage.

* Bring out the jug. A milk jug, two-liter bottle or other container can be cut and placed over individual plants. Place over the plant and an inch or so into the soil to provide best protection. Remove when weather warms or plants can overheat.

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