It’s important to protect your plants as freezing temperatures expected in many local areas

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — It’s important to protect your plants when temperatures drop.

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Some ways to do that include bringing your pots inside or putting a sheet over them.

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Plants bring life to your yard, but they are in danger of dying because of freezing temperatures, according to Liberty Landscape designer Maia Waldroff.

“You want to make sure that with those topical plants, you really want to cover them because they’re really zoned for areas a little lower than us... some don’t survive through the winter,” Waldroff said. “And that’s always devastating.”

She said dozens of customers lost their plants during the freezing temperatures last year. But she said you can protect them by using breathable materials like lightweight blankets, sheets, or a frost cloth.

“Do not use plastic that is a number one rule of thumb, don’t use plastic, it will suffocate the plants,” Waldroff said.

Read: LIST: Cold weather shelters opening in Northeast Florida, Southeast Georgia ahead of freezing temps

Action News Jax’s First Alert Weather team said that while we are expecting temperatures in the 20s and 30s we are also expecting wind chills to be between 15 to 25 degrees.

If a plant is too tall to cover the top, it’s recommended you use a sheet to cover the roots.

“I’ll be putting out sheets and doing what I can,” plant owner Patrick Davis said.

Davis is doing whatever he thinks will help.

“I’ve had some damage to some of my palm trees and a little bit of damage to some of my bushes.”

Read: Temperatures in Northeast Florida, Southeast Georgia will feel like teens, 20s on Wednesday morning

Waldroff said when you wrap your plants, also make sure to weigh it down with something sturdy.

“Look for a rock or something like a sturdy book or something that’s you set right at the area and kind of hold it down to keep that from moving if we get high winds or anything of that sort,” she said.

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The First Alert Weather team said these are the coldest temperatures of the winter so far. Also expected are freeze warnings in the Duval area on Wednesday morning.

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