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How to use garden fleece on a frost night

Updated: 22 October 2026

The forecast has turned clear. Cover before the temperature falls, leave slack, pin the hem, and take it off when the day is mild or anything is in flower. It is not a heater. The Met Office treats an air frost as air at or below 0°C, and a ground frost as a cold surface while the air is warmer. The RHS puts heavier fleece at about 2°C. If you are still choosing weight or width, start with the [garden fleece buying guide](/hub/garden-supplies/frost-protection-fleece/sub/frost-protection-fleece-buying-guide). Prices are on the [Frost protection fleece](/hub/garden-supplies/frost-protection-fleece) comparison. Peter F. checked the listings on 19 October 2026, with no lab trial. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

The forecast has turned clear. Cover before the temperature falls, leave slack, pin the hem, and take it off when the day is mild or anything is in flower. It is not a heater.

Our top picks

MIXC MIXC fleece jackets, two 120 cm × 180 cm

Best overall

MIXC MIXC fleece jackets, two 120 cm × 180 cm
8.5/10about £16.99
View offer
Ambassador Ambassador 17 g/m² fleece, 20 m × 1 m

Best value

Ambassador Ambassador 17 g/m² fleece, 20 m × 1 m
8.3/10about £5.86
View offer
CHEOAR CHEOAR 30 gsm fleece, 9 m × 3 m

Rank 3

CHEOAR CHEOAR 30 gsm fleece, 9 m × 3 m
1.6/10about £15.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Check the night, not just the air temperature
  2. 2.Lay it with spare and fix the edge
  3. 3.Take it off when the weather or the flowers need you to
  4. 4.Dry it and know when fleece is the wrong tool

Check the night, not just the air temperature

A ground frost can settle on leaves while a thermometer at head height still reads above freezing. That is the night a salad bed or blossom at knee height needs cover. Fleece can only take the edge off a few degrees. Elixir Garden Supplies says to cover before the temperature falls, and says fleece cannot guarantee a minimum temperature. Put the sheet on in the late afternoon. The RHS gives tender-bedding planting from early May in London and the south-west through to June in Scotland. Fleece does not move those months. On the worst night, double the layer, and for strawberries use that second layer only overnight.

Lay it with spare and fix the edge

Spread the sheet with spare at every edge and with slack over the crop. A drum-tight cover tears and conducts the cold onto the leaves it touches. Support blossom with canes so the cloth stays off the flowers. The RHS describes laying fleece directly on sturdy crops, and blossom is the exception. Fix the hem with pegs, soil, or staples. P. Wolf's listing points to pegs, soil or staples. CHEOAR is sold with clips. Bricks in an OAHAO review will tear 17 g cloth if the wind saws the fabric. Several buyers received a folded bundle, so unfold it before dusk. A jacket replaces the pegs with a drawstring. If the edge is loose, you have added a sail.
MIXC MIXC fleece jackets, two 120 cm × 180 cm

Testsieger

MIXC MIXC fleece jackets, two 120 cm × 180 cm
8.5/10about £16.99
View offer

Take it off when the weather or the flowers need you to

Remove the cover once the day is mild. Fleece left on through a bright afternoon holds heat and pests and steals light. The RHS says fruit covers come off by day so pollinators can work. Strawberries in flower get a double layer on the frost night, then off in the morning if the flowers are open. A large free-standing fruit tree is a different problem. The RHS treats covering it as impractical. You will not peg a sheet over a mature apple. In a long mild spell, lift the covers so the plants harden and dry, and put them back when the next clear night is forecast.

Dry it and know when fleece is the wrong tool

Dry the sheet or the jacket before you fold it. Damp polypropylene stored in a ball weakens and sticks, and a crown packed in wet cloth rots. The RHS wrap for a banana or tree fern is often straw plus fleece, with the crown kept dry. A single sheet over the leaves is not that wrap. The RHS says 17 g cloth can break into scraps within a year. Heavier cloth lasts longer only if you store it dry and do not rip it with bricks. Gardeners' World states that polypropylene fleece is not recyclable, so scraps are general waste. If tonight's choice is still 17 g or about 30 g, that is on 17 gsm versus 30 gsm horticultural fleece.

Common questions

Do I put fleece on in the afternoon or at dawn?
Put it on in the afternoon, before the temperature falls, while you can still see the edges and peg them. Dawn is too late for that night's frost, and a ground frost can already be on the leaves while the air at head height looks acceptable. Covering early also gives you time to unfold a bundled sheet, which is how several of these packs arrive. Take it off again in the morning if the day is mild or the plant is in flower.
Can I lay it straight on the plants?
You can lay fleece directly on sturdy crops such as a row of hardy vegetables. The RHS describes that use, usually without hoops. Do not lay it on blossom or on soft tips. Use canes or a simple support so the cloth stays off the flowers, then peg the edge. A tight sheet with no slack tears and holds the cold against the tissue it touches. Jackets should hang over the shrub with the drawstring at the compost, not stretched like a drum.
How do I stop it blowing away?
Peg every edge, bury the hem in soil, or use the clips or staples the sheet was sold with. CHEOAR is the listing that includes clips. P. Wolf's copy allows pegs, soil or staples. A brick can weight a corner on a still night, though it tears light cloth if the fabric saws against it. On a jacket, cinch the drawstring. Check the wind forecast as well as the frost. A loose edge on the windward side is the usual failure, and it happens before midnight.
Should I water before a frost?
Do not soak a crown or a pot and then seal it under fleece. Wet compost and wet fabric hold damp against the plant, and the RHS warns that trapped moisture rots banana and tree-fern crowns. Water earlier in the day if the pot is dry, let the foliage dry, and cover only once the leaves are not dripping. Fleece is porous, unlike polythene, so light rain can still pass. A waterproof jacket works against that and can hold condensation overnight.
Can I leave it on strawberries that are flowering?
Use fleece overnight if a frost is forecast, and add a second layer on the worst night, then remove it by day while the flowers are open. Pollinators do not work through a pinned sheet. Cloth lying on the flowers all day also cuts light and can hold damp in the crown of the plant. Support the cover so it is not stuck to the blossom. If you cannot get out in the morning to uncover them, a fleece left on through flowering week is a poor trade.

Related pages

Frost protection fleece jackets

Frost protection fleece

17gsm vs 30gsm horticultural fleece for a UK frost

Best garden fleece UK: light sheet, 30 gsm or jacket

Garden fleece buying guide: gsm, width, sheet or jacket

Sources

Public UK sources for this comparison. Prices, stars and review counts are the amazon.co.uk listings in this set, captured 19 October 2026. Page updated 22 October 2026.

  1. RHS: fleece and crop covers (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  2. RHS: frost damage (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  3. RHS: fruit frost protection (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  4. Met Office: frost and ice (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  5. BBC Gardeners' World: garden fleece (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  6. Quickcrop: types of frost protection (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  7. Harrod Horticultural: 30 gsm garden fleece (retrieved 22 October 2026)