Because I am getting these questions from several folks in Nashville TN:
Do you need to cover everything in your yard tonight when it may drop below freezing temperatures?
For plants ....mostly you don't need to cover stuff.
However, here's some things to consider covering: warm weather loving plants or tropicals. For example if you already planted tomatoes, peppers, petunias, vinca, annual begonias...summer stuff, cover it. Cover your elephant ear. If your azaleas and rhododendrons have buds, showing color, then the frost could damage the bud, but not really harm the plant..just maybe you don't get flowers.
Tulip blooms may freeze and then they're done, but the foliage is fine. Leave it alone until it browns. Just like your daffodils.
One night of frost/cold wont do anymore damage than has already been done. If we had this warm up and then a week of freezing, yes we might be more concerned about damage to other shrubs and plants. That is to say, most of the damage is already done from the brutal winter.
Cover with cloth (old sheets and dropcloths) not plastic. Or use cardboard boxes. You are trying to create an insulating layer of air. I think plastic is bad if it touches your plant tissue.
Related: Later in spring or summer, you may see shrubs or small diameter young trees with split bark. This could be (although there can be other causes) a result of the winter. On very warm winter days, trees and shrubs with good southern exposure may leave dormancy and start to generate fluid movement up their bark. The plant tissue becomes sap -filled. Then if we get extreme cold immediately, the fluid may freeze causing the outer bark to split or be damaged. The damage may not be evident for awhile. Depending on the amount of damage the plant may heal itself.
There's debate about 'wrapping' these damaged areas with cloth or paper. The plant should really by able to heal the edges of this injury itself if not too severe. But it does create a vulnerability for insect/disease damages.
This is life as a plant-loving person!
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