You would think with some of the extremes of temperatures we have had in recent years it may question our choice of plants, moving away from the more tender varieties.

But when we fall in love with that ‘must have’ banana plant at the nursery, rain, wind and snow are not always at the forefront of our minds.

So now with the temperatures falling and frosts just around the corner these more tender beauties need a bit of extra love and protection to see them through the winter months.

The technical bit: Cold damage is caused by intra-cellular freezing, ice forming in or between the plant cells, especially damaging when the temperature drops very quickly.

A slow freeze means ice is formed outside cells which means better recovery on thawing. Hardy plants survive by avoiding intra-cellular freezing as they have less water in their cells.

Tender plants: these plants will not survive frost but can tolerate some cold.

Examples: Bananas and tree ferns.

Action required: before frosts move under cover or if too large you can wrap/cover with horticultural fleece, hessian, straw or polystyrene still allowing room for air to circulate. Try not to trap water inside the protection or this can cause rot.

Dahlias and cannas can stay in the ground, cutting back the top and adding a thick mulch to protect them.

Half-hardy perennials and shrubs: these plants don’t like sudden or early frosts but can be hardy in a mild winter.

Examples: Penstemon; Coryline and summer bedding falls into this category including Pelargonium (geranium); Impatiens (busy lizzies)

Action required: although it is tempting to want to cut back and prune, avoid doing this until spring to give these plants a better chance of winter survival.

If in a container move them up against the house wall or into a greenhouse if you have the room.

Hardy: these plants will withstand our winters outside provided ground is not waterlogged and some new shoots may still get damaged by late frosts.

Examples: Griselinia; Ceanothus & Fatsia japonica.

Action required: prune out any leaves that have turned brown and been damaged by frost in the spring.