Protecting plants in freezing temperatures

It's not easy being green... not when it's this cold. 

Homeowner Miles Smith is prepared. His landscaper covered his pricey palm trees, but he's been fighting with the wind.

"I spent 30 minutes trying to put it back together myself. If you get close you can see the chip clips. That's my work,” he said.

He's by no means the only one trying to protect their landscaping. Let's face it, it's an investment.

"We try to cover as much as we can," says Ben Shamoolian with River Oaks Plant House. You can see they've pulled out all the stops covering their topiaries and just about anything else they can.

He says most people don't have enough sheets to cover everything, so if you have to pick and choose--- protect the new stuff.

“The plants that have been in the ground a long time, over a year or two, the roots are established in the ground. Even if branches freeze you can trim them back and they are still safe,” he says. 

He says even stuff that is cold weather resistant is at risk when freshly planted. He says make sure you use fabric, not plastic for covering. Plastic will trap moisture which can freeze and harm the plants.  

He says it's a good idea to water before a freeze. That's too late now really, but you should water them after a freeze with lukewarm water if possible. Shamoolian says it's probably not necessary if the temperature is dipping below freezing for an hour or two.

But this snap is longer than that, so Smith isn't taking any chances.

"Whatever works. So hopefully tomorrow we will have two relatively expensive palm trees..." Smith says.