Preparing for the "Polar Vortex"

Like everyone else around the USA, I've been watching the news of the approaching winter freeze with morbid fascination.  How cold will it really get?  What kind of wind chills will we experience?  How is this all going to affect my life?    I read one weather essay that has even named this event a "Polar Vortex."  I'm not sure what that means but it certainly sounds ominous.

Along with these questions, I'm also pondering the best way (if any) that I can protect my plants from these sap-freezing temperatures.   Today is the day to execute the plan.

First on my mind, are the plants that are in the ground.   Since they are already well-watered and I mulched thoroughly before winter arrived, I know I have done all that can be done to help them.  I know I will lose some of my semi-tropicals that were high risk to plant in my backyard.  Some of my hardier plants and shrubs will experience foliage damage, but with well-mulched and watered root systems, they will survive the cold.

Then, I have to consider my cold frame.  With blankets, it can hold a temperature about 12 degrees above the outside air temperature.   With lows predicted in the single digits,  I can expect cold frame temperatures to end up around 20 degrees, which is no where near warm enough for the plants in there.  This afternoon, I'll be moving all those plants into the house for a few days. 

I also have large container plants wintering in my garage.   I've never actually placed a thermometer in the garage so I don't really know how much warmer it is than the typical outdoor temperature.  Although warmer than the cold frame, I don't have any confidence that the temperature will be able to stay above freezing for the duration of this polar experience.  They will be coming into the house too.

However, there is  no possible way that I can move our beloved potted satsuma orange tree into the house from the garage.  It is too tall, wide, and heavy for us to move completely indoors.  Although it is supposed to be hardy into the mid-twenties, I'm concerned that the garage may drop below that temperature before this freeze comes to an end.  This afternoon I plan to make a tent for the tree, wrapping it in the blankets that I normally use on the cold frame. 

Stay warm!  Good luck to all of us!