(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — A frost advisory in the forecast means it’s time to start protecting some outdoor plants.
Horticulture Educator Jamie Viebach with the University of Illinois Extension says while the cold can hurt or kill some potted or tropical plants, it can be helpful to trees and native plants by making them go dormant.
That’s the state they’ll remain in for the winter.
Viebach suggests you bring sensitive plants into your garage if you can, so as to limit the shock of major temperature swings and eliminate hitchhiking bugs.
“Some little outdoor critters may have taken up residence in the soil of your plants and if you bring them right inside, they're going to warm up and now your home is their home,” Viebach says.
Those that stay outside, including any late-season vegetables such as kale or broccoli, she advises you cover them with a blanket or sheet and keep them near your house to catch any radiant heat.
If you’re thinking about planting native seeds like blazing stars, milkweed or black-eyed Susans, Viebach says now is the perfect time.
“These cold temperatures are actually a good thing for them that helps them to enter dormancy and that dormant state that's going to get them through the winter.”
Putting them through a freeze-thaw cycle spurs them to germinate.
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