How do plants protect themselves from frost?

            There are over 350,000 kinds of plants in the world. All these continue to struggle to survive against storms, rains, sun and snow. There are some which die due to cold in winters, although before dying their seeds are spread on the ground so that in the autumn they can give birth to new plants. However, there are some plants which are able to protect themselves against winter.

            These plants are able to protect themselves against winter frost by a special method. They spread their leaves and flatten them against the ground. The warmth in the soil enters their leaves and the plant is protected. Some other plants like myrtle and heather allow their upper parts to die but their stem remains alive. Stems act as storage organs, both above and below the ground. These produce buds and thus restore their species. Many plants hide themselves under the soil to escape from the cold, these include tubers, bulbs and roots which store their food according to their need. When summer comes they push out green leaves and new buds.

            Sometimes artificial methods are used to protect plants from frost, e.g. oil heaters called smudge pots are used in the region where citrus fruits are grown. In some places large fans are used to keep the cold air moving so that frost is not able to get deposited on the fruit trees.