Yes, good ol’ Mother Nature is out to get us, again, with a False Spring followed by a frost and freeze alert, Tuesday & Wednesday in Detroit. We can do something about it, -nothing guaranteed of course, but something is better than nothing. You can spend Sunday & Monday getting prepared by filching cardboard boxes from the dumpsters behind specialty, variety, and florist shops, acquiring some carton tape from big box and making low boxes for use on Monday and Tuesday nights. You can use all different sizes because lots of plants have small footprints, so get all the sizes you can stuff in your vehicle. Any boxes that are too tall can be split down the middle with a razor knife to make two. Remove the boxes before the sun overheats the plants underneath and makes them even more tender for the 2nd night.
For large beds of perennials, tall-ish roses, or mulched-in bonsai you can run a lawn sprinkler all night. The constant flow of water will keep the immediate area the temperature of water, and also provide some protection against frost by coating the leaves will ice. I don’t understand how it works, but the citrus orchardists do this successfully.
Good Luck, and of course, Pass It On!
