I would cover them if you can - everything I read says that they love the heat and shun the cold - if frost gets them, they die, so...pull out your old blankets, sheets, etc., for those, too.

Sharon

Thanks, Sharon. How about the celosias and the tomatoes in pots. Should I uncover them tomorrow, or just leave them covered until Thurs. when this should be all over?
Sammy

I think Celosias would be very freeze sensitive.

Tomorrow is supposed to be in the 60s here, I would uncover if you leave late enough so that the weather is warming up.

Usually celosias can survive for a little while at temps as low as 30 degrees as long as those temperatures are not accompanied by frost. Sometimes I've had them freeze to the ground during a late freeze accompanied by frost and they've regrown. How much cold they can tolerate is influenced by how much prior cold weather they've been exposed to. The more cool but above-freezing temperatures they've already been exposed to, the more likely they are to tolerate an hour or two at 30-32 degrees.However, if they just came out of a greenhouse last weekend and then went right into the ground, they may not have very good cold tolerance. If your temps drop below 30 degrees, they freeze and die and there's no way around that.

I have a flat of New Look celosias in the ground and they're covered up because they are planted as companions with veggies so they should be fine tonight. I usually don't put celosias in flower beds or containers until at least May because I don't have enough row cover to cover up the dedicated flower beds and I don't have any containers planted yet, except those that have perennial flowers and trees in them, and all those containers are in the greenhouse or garage tonight, except for the mint. Nothing kills mint, except the Drought of 2011.

At our house we almost always have a frost on May 3rd or 4th, so I don't plant anything too tender until then, but I love celosias mixed in with veggies so I went ahead and planted them with the tomatoes since I knew I'd be covering up the tomatoes.

It always is hard to decide when to uncover plants. When I used hard plastic buckets, flower pots, etc., I'd remove them every morning as soon as the temperatures hit the 40s. As early as you have to go to work, that might not be possible for you to do because your temperatures still might be below freezing.. In general, I agree with Lisa about uncovering them....but if they are under a breathable textile, they'll tolerate being covered. During a prolonged cold spell I've left plants covered for 3 weeks (in 2007, I think it was) with no bad side effects, but the covers weren't touching the plants...they were suspended over hoop frames. It is a different issue if your plants are actually touched by what is covering them, particularly if it is some sort of plastic that doesn't breathe. Plants can roast under a non-breathable covering, and if they are covered with plastic during freezing temperatures, in any place where the plastic touches the plant it can conduct the cold to the plants and damage them wherever the plastic and the plants actually touch one another.

Dawn