Heavyweight 60gsm fleece - nearly four times the thickness of standard garden fleece.

Most horticultural fleece sold in the UK is 17-30gsm. It is thin, single-season material that tears on the first windy night. Ours is 60gsm. It is the fleece we use at our own nursery at Tremenheere to bring stock through the winter, and we have been using the same sheets for years.

What it does

• Lifts the temperature underneath. The fleece traps a layer of still air around the plant and holds back radiated heat, keeping the air beneath several degrees warmer than ambient on a clear, frosty night. Double the fleece over for harder frosts, two layers is significantly better than one.
• Breathable. It can stay on for days through a long cold spell without cooking your plants or trapping the damp that rots crowns and soft growth.
• Rain resistant. Repels water rather than allowing the water to soak through and freeze solid against the foliage, the usual failure of thin fleece.
• Heavy enough to survive the wind. At 60gsm it does not shred at the pegging points the way lightweight fleece does.
• Reusable. Wash, dry and store it at the end of winter and it will be usable for many seasons to come.

What it's for

Tender and borderline-hardy plants:

• Agaves, Aeoniums and tender succulents, where keeping the rain off matters as much as the cold
• Tree ferns (Dicksonia antarctica), pack the crown and wrap the trunk
• Bananas (Musa basjoo), gingers and cannas
• Olives, citrus and figs in pots or in the ground
• Palms Trachycarpus, Chamaerops, Butia
• Echiums, Brugmansia, Cordylines and other tender exotics
• Camellia and Magnolia buds caught by a late spring frost
• Unheated greenhouses and cold frames line the inside, or drape over plants

Which size do I need?

• 2m x 2m one medium shrub, a group of pots, or a single tree fern crown
• 4m x 2m a large specimen, a row of raised beds, or several plants at once
• 4m x 5m a mature tree fern or palm, a full border, or lining one side of a greenhouse

Cut it to size with ordinary scissors.

How to use it

When: apply when temperatures are forecast at 5°C or below, and during hail or prolonged winter rain.

• Drape loosely. Cut to size and lay it over the plant with some slack.
• Secure the edges. Pegs, stones or weights will help.
• Don't compress it. Fleece pressed tight against the plants conducts cold straight through and can snap new growth.
• Use a frame for bigger plants. Hoops or canes under the fleece create a mini-greenhouse effect and stops the weight sitting on the plant.
• Lift it on mild days. Open it up on sunny days to let the plants breathe, then put it back when the cold returns.
• At the end of winter, wash, dry and store for next year.
  

With the use of fleece, you can save the heartache and money of losing your most precious specimen plants.