Due to my calendar, this past weekend was the only weekend I could plant my new xeric garden. However this snowstorm is making me lose my mind! How do I best protect my new (expensive) baby plants from both the freeze AND snow? 😭😭
I have a bunch of big buckets + a tarp I can use, but they’re plastic and everything online says I need to use burlap, but I don’t own burlap! Is plastic coverings really a no go?
Also, once the snow falls, do I brush snow off covers / shovel snow away from my plants?
My current plan is water them this morning, then cover them early tomorrow morning when it hits 40. I’d leave them covered until late Wednesday afternoon where I’d take off the cover when it’s expected to be sunny and around 40. Then I’d recover before sunset and then remove cover Thursday morning. Is this the right approach??
Any other tips and tricks from experience in Denver? Thank you!!
EDIT for additional info: All my plants are hardy, xeric perennials (e.g. black eyed susans, beard tongue, blanket flowers, coneflowers, creeping thyme, blue fescue grass etc). I received them this past week from High County Gardens which seemed to grow them all within a greenhouse in SLC, Utah. They were in transit for 3 days. I immediately removed them from their packaging and let them acclimate to the north facing morning sun while still in their grow box for a day (roots remained moist) before planting. Unfortunately I didn’t have time to not plant them this weekend because I didn’t have a free full day for rest of the month 😭. The rootballs were all very healthy upon arrival but the plants are still very small and delicate.
EDIT for updated approach: First of all, thank you everyone for the kind help!! Seems like my plants are likely not hardened off enough for me to be in a comfortable position. I’ll use my buckets, cloth tarps, and prayers to any gods that will listen. I’m covering everything tonight, and will let them breathe for an hour come Wednesday late afternoon if weather permits. Here’s to learning valuable gardening lessons from experience 😅