Good morning Gardeners! Are you wrapping up to go outside today? Coat, scarf, gloves, woolly hat perhaps? Well, if so, then spare a thought for your more vulnerable plants that might need something to keep the cold, damp and frostbite at bay.
Garden fleece is the perfect answer. And until now, unless you want to bandage your plants in unruly loose fleece, the Haxnicks Easy Fleece Jacket has been the only solution. This year we have added a new product to the range though. The Green Fern Easy Fleece Jacket. So if your plant is somewhere where you will see it, and you prefer it to look more leafy then you now have a choice.
Both versions are a very effective way to look after larger tender or exotic plants. In 3 sizes, small, medium & large they work for hanging baskets, and problem plants such as acers or tree ferns.
How to fit Fleece Jacket plant protection
Simply slip them over the top of your plant and tighten the draw string. If its going to be very cold then you can double or even triple them up by just adding another fleece on top. Then if you have a mild day you can loosen the drawstring and take them off. Exactly as you would with your own jacket when the temperature rises.
Cordyline palms are particulalry tricky to protect from frost and harsh weather. The best way to protect them is to gather all the leaves together and hold them in an upright position with some string or Soft-tie.
When it is really cold though, an Easy Fleece Jacket or Green Fern Easy Fleece Jacket (or two) will help to protect the foliage. Importantly it will stop the frost getting to the growing point of the palm. Do make sure to remove the jackets when the weather is warmer to avoid rotting though.
Protecting plants in rows
If you have smaller plants in beds, or rows of veg on the go, then the Extra thick Fleece blanket is another way to protect your plants. Simply secure with fabric pegs to keep the cold out.
Protecting individual Plants
Or for single plants then Victorian Bell cloches will keep out the cold. Watch renowned horticulturist and BBC broadcaster, Pippa Greenwood explain how Haxnicks Bells can help.