4 Tips Avoid Frost and Freeze Damage on New Plantings 

As a landscape designer or contractor, the colder months present a unique set of challenges that revolve around working with, or often against, the chilly climate. 

This period is crucial, particularly when it involves safeguarding your new plantings from the harsh realities of frost and freeze conditions. Ensuring the survival and thriving of these plantings through the winter is not just a task—it's an essential part of your commitment to your clients and the landscapes you create.

We've put together four essential tips to help you tackle frost and freeze damage in new plantings, ensuring your plants thrive under your expert care!

What is Frost and Freeze Damage?
Frost and freeze may sound similar, but they impact your plantings in distinct ways. Frost damage is the result of water vapor in the air condensing and forming ice crystals on plant surfaces when temperatures dip below freezing. This primarily affects the plant's exterior - leaves, stems, and flowers - leading to symptoms like wilting, discoloration, or browning. While troublesome, frost damage is often less severe than freeze damage.

Freeze damage, on the other hand, strikes when temperatures stay below freezing over extended periods, often for several hours or even days. This form of damage is more pervasive, affecting not just the external parts of the plant but also internal tissues, including roots and stems. The result can be as severe as dehydration and, in extreme cases, the death of the plant.

To shield your new plantings from the ravages of frost and freeze, it's vital to adopt certain practices and precautions, ensuring the survival and continued growth of the plants under your care.


1. Know Your Zone
Timing is everything in the fight against frost and freeze damage. A critical step is understanding the typical first and last frost dates in your area. Utilizing resources like the Farmers Almanac can provide valuable estimates based on historical climate data, though they are predictions rather than guarantees.

Equally important is staying updated with the USDA hardiness zones, which have recently been revised for the first time since 2012. Knowing your zone helps in planning what to plant and avoiding the misstep of planting at inopportune times.

2. Cover Your Plantings 
Physical barriers can be your plants' best friend in cold weather. Utilize protective measures like pop-up hoop houses, blankets, tarps, or other durable materials to shield the plants. It's crucial to secure these coverings at the bottom with hooks, staples, or weights like bricks to prevent cold air from seeping in.

3. Mulch For Protection
Don't underestimate the power of mulch!  A 2 to 3-inch layer of mulch around the base of your plants, covering the entire root zone, can significantly mitigate frost and freeze damage. Mulch acts as an insulator, slowing heat loss from the soil and preventing it from freezing. Organic materials like pine straw, hay, or leaves are excellent choices for insulating soil and protecting roots during cold spells.

4. Strategic Watering
Counterintuitive as it may seem, watering plants before a freeze can be beneficial, especially if there's no rain forecasted. Moist soil retains heat better than dry soil, offering a degree of insulation to plant roots. However, ensure that you water only when the ground isn’t already frozen to avoid exacerbating the situation.

By integrating these strategies into your landscaping practices, you not only protect your plantings from frost and freeze damage but also ensure their healthy growth and development, regardless of the season's challenges.

MNI Direct: Your Partner in Plant Materials 
Since 2007, our team has been dedicated to providing the professional landscape trade with quality plant material and hardlines needed for success. 

We are dedicated to being a one-stop source for contractor planting needs, offering a vast array of options, and delivering the very best in customer service. 

MNI Direct remains committed to supporting your tree planting and landscaping endeavors across Atlanta, Georgia, Piedmont, South Carolina, and Rock Hill, South Carolina.


4 Tips Avoid Frost and Freeze Damage on New Plantings 

As a landscape designer or contractor, the colder months present a unique set of challenges that revolve around working with, or often against, the chilly climate. 

This period is crucial, particularly when it involves safeguarding your new plantings from the harsh realities of frost and freeze conditions. Ensuring the survival and thriving of these plantings through the winter is not just a task—it's an essential part of your commitment to your clients and the landscapes you create.

We've put together four essential tips to help you tackle frost and freeze damage in new plantings, ensuring your plants thrive under your expert care!

What is Frost and Freeze Damage?
Frost and freeze may sound similar, but they impact your plantings in distinct ways. Frost damage is the result of water vapor in the air condensing and forming ice crystals on plant surfaces when temperatures dip below freezing. This primarily affects the plant's exterior - leaves, stems, and flowers - leading to symptoms like wilting, discoloration, or browning. While troublesome, frost damage is often less severe than freeze damage.

Freeze damage, on the other hand, strikes when temperatures stay below freezing over extended periods, often for several hours or even days. This form of damage is more pervasive, affecting not just the external parts of the plant but also internal tissues, including roots and stems. The result can be as severe as dehydration and, in extreme cases, the death of the plant.

To shield your new plantings from the ravages of frost and freeze, it's vital to adopt certain practices and precautions, ensuring the survival and continued growth of the plants under your care.


1. Know Your Zone
Timing is everything in the fight against frost and freeze damage. A critical step is understanding the typical first and last frost dates in your area. Utilizing resources like the Farmers Almanac can provide valuable estimates based on historical climate data, though they are predictions rather than guarantees.

Equally important is staying updated with the USDA hardiness zones, which have recently been revised for the first time since 2012. Knowing your zone helps in planning what to plant and avoiding the misstep of planting at inopportune times.

2. Cover Your Plantings 
Physical barriers can be your plants' best friend in cold weather. Utilize protective measures like pop-up hoop houses, blankets, tarps, or other durable materials to shield the plants. It's crucial to secure these coverings at the bottom with hooks, staples, or weights like bricks to prevent cold air from seeping in.

3. Mulch For Protection
Don't underestimate the power of mulch!  A 2 to 3-inch layer of mulch around the base of your plants, covering the entire root zone, can significantly mitigate frost and freeze damage. Mulch acts as an insulator, slowing heat loss from the soil and preventing it from freezing. Organic materials like pine straw, hay, or leaves are excellent choices for insulating soil and protecting roots during cold spells.

4. Strategic Watering
Counterintuitive as it may seem, watering plants before a freeze can be beneficial, especially if there's no rain forecasted. Moist soil retains heat better than dry soil, offering a degree of insulation to plant roots. However, ensure that you water only when the ground isn’t already frozen to avoid exacerbating the situation.

By integrating these strategies into your landscaping practices, you not only protect your plantings from frost and freeze damage but also ensure their healthy growth and development, regardless of the season's challenges.

MNI Direct: Your Partner in Plant Materials 
Since 2007, our team has been dedicated to providing the professional landscape trade with quality plant material and hardlines needed for success. 

We are dedicated to being a one-stop source for contractor planting needs, offering a vast array of options, and delivering the very best in customer service. 

MNI Direct remains committed to supporting your tree planting and landscaping endeavors across Atlanta, Georgia, Piedmont, South Carolina, and Rock Hill, South Carolina.