First Frost in Lineville: What to Move, What to Mulch, What to Leave
Our average first frost falls between 5 and 15 November. Average means half the time it is earlier. Here is the triage, in the order we would do it.
Move
Anything rated zone 9 or warmer that is living in a container. Tropicals, most citrus, tender succulents, and houseplants that spent the summer outside. These do not harden off and do not recover - one night at 28°F ends them.
Bring them in before the first frost, not after it. Check the undersides of leaves and the soil surface first; whatever is living on the plant outdoors comes indoors with it, and a plant with a pest problem should be dealt with outside, away from everything else. We do not use pesticides, and our preference is a strong spray of water and physical removal.
Expect leaf drop for two to three weeks after a plant comes inside. That is the adjustment to lower light, not a sign of damage.
Mulch
Anything planted this season, and anything perennial that is rated close to 8a. Two to three inches of mulch over the root zone, pulled back a hand's width from the trunk or crown.
Mulch is not a blanket. It does not keep the plant warm. It keeps soil temperature from swinging, and the freeze-thaw cycle is what actually damages new roots - it heaves them out of contact with the soil. Steady cold soil is fine. Soil that freezes and thaws weekly is not.
Leave
Established perennials, dormant trees and shrubs that are comfortably hardy here, and cool-season crops. Kale, collards, carrots and most brassicas improve after frost - cold converts starch to sugar and the flavour is measurably better.
Leave the spent perennial foliage standing too, if you can live with how it looks. It insulates the crown, and the seed heads feed birds through winter. Cut it back in late February.
What not to do
Do not fertilise anything in autumn. Fertiliser pushes tender new growth exactly when the plant should be shutting down, and that growth is what the first hard freeze takes.
Do not prune woody plants now either, for the same reason. Pruning signals growth. Wait until late winter, when the plant is fully dormant and you can see its structure.
The night before
Water everything thoroughly. Moist soil holds several times more heat than dry soil and releases it slowly overnight. It is the cheapest frost protection there is, and it matters most for the plants sitting right at the edge of their range.
