Prepping for the Arctic Blast–Results

Like most of the rest of the country, we are preparing for temperatures that are WELL below normal, and it’s also supposed to be windy. This is a combination that will kill my rosemary plant. So I decided to try to save it.

Unfortunately the rosemary plant is a little floppy.

So the first thing I did was to tie it up to make it more compact and easier to work with.

Then I laid a couple of large beach towels over it for insulation.

Then I put an extra large trash bag over the top. This was quite a wrestling match–I’m glad you can’t see a video of that operation.

Then I secured the bottom of the bag with some rope.

I think a broke a branch or two getting it tied up, but if those are all I lose, I will consider the operation a success. I should know in a few weeks if I was successful. Fingers crossed!

So I left all of this on the rosemary until the temperatures had moderated and was please to discover that, although the plant was a little smooshed, it had survived. A couple weeks after the cold snap, I had to trim off the parts of the plant that hadn’t been covered–because they were going to die off. Here is the plant today:

My thyme didn’t make it. I had to pull it up.

It is supposed to get cold again this week, but not quite as bad as last time. I am ready for winter to be over.