Landscaping in Rockville MD: Prevent Damage from Frost

If you spend time, money, and effort to maintain your landscaping in Rockville MD, you may be wondering if you can prevent the damage caused by frost.

Frost happen during cold (freezing temperatures) and cloudless nights. Light frosts do minimal plant damage; however, as the temperature drops further below freezing - that’s when you get into “hard frost” territory, which can severely damage or kill your plants.

So how do you prevent damage to your landscaping in Rockville MD from a frost?

• Plant only those plants that are hardy to your Zone - in Rockville MD, that would be Zone 7a. When in doubt about a plant or tree’s hardiness, contact your local landscaper or nursery. You can also ask or look around the neighborhood, to determine what will over-winter well.
• If the forecast is for an early mild frost, take precautions with your annuals and kitchen garden (non-hardy plants); by protecting these during a single mild frost, you may be able to extend your growing season by weeks.
• The lower areas of your yard are more susceptible to cold air, and may frost first, or be the only areas that get a mild frost. Plant your more tender plant species on higher ground or on slopes.
• Withhold fertilizer beginning in September to prevent the budding of tender, new foliage that would susceptible to frost.
• Water the garden thoroughly before nightfall, and before covering.
• Cover up your plants in the late afternoon (before dark) to help hold the heat in, and remove the cover in the morning, when the frost has thawed. Lightweight coverings are the best: newspaper, cardboard, plastic tarps, bed sheeting or any other lightweight material over the frame to create a tent around your plants.
• If your plants sustain damage from a frost, don’t cut off the damaged parts of the plants. The dead leaves and stems provide some insulation from further frost damage.

For more information about landscaping in Rockville MD, please contact East Coast Landscape Design. East Coast Landscape Design is head and shoulders above other landscaping companies in Bethesda MD. For over 30 years, East Coast Landscape Design has designed and installed beautiful landscape and hardscape projects around Rockville MD and surrounding communities.