Freeze Warning: Guide To Protecting Your Plants

DETROIT (CBS Detroit) Just when your flowering bushes, tulips and hostas started to flourish in the earlier-than-ever spring comes potentially devastating news: Frost is coming.

Forecasters say the low will dip to 30 degrees Monday night, which brings the potential for plant destruction.

The National Weather Service has issued a Freeze Warning in effect for Southeast Michigan from 11 p.m. Monday through 10 a.m. Tuesday.

See  the complete forecast here. 

Don't wait to make protection plans until the you see the droopy evidence of a nasty freeze. Get ready. But what should you arm yourself with?

You may be surprised to learn the answer lies in your linen closet.

Chris Rutledge of English Gardens in Royal Oak suggest bringing out your oldest bed sheets and covering tender roots with the fabric so the frost settles on the material and not your plants..

"You're gonna want to cover them with a sheet, not plastic, plastic does the opposite of what you want -- a sheet would be the best," Rutledge said.

Hold down the sheet with a rock or something else that's easy to find and leave the fabric down until the sun really starts to shine again, at least mid-morning Wednesday.

"Keep them covered, don't uncover them right away, that's a mistake a lot of people make, let it stay until the sun really gets to them," Rutledge said.

What about burlap? It's OK to use if you have some laying around, but it's more porous than a sheet, so double it if you're using it so frost can't seep through.

"Sheets really are your best bet," Rutledge added. "It's the easiest and the best."

The early spring is also threatening some Michigan farmers' crops. Catch up on that here.