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Kate Russell, the author of Stop Wasting Your Yard! emphasizes their benefits, adding that they are an 'excellent tool for creating a buffer between freezing temperatures and frost-sensitive plants.' However, she notes that it only works if the sheets are raised above the plants. 'As soon as the sheets touch the plants, everything will freeze,' she says.

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The process of setting up the protective sheet is almost as easy as it sounds. However, Zeeshan warns that there are some quirks to remember in the process.

'First, make sure the bed sheet is large enough to cover the entire area of the garden that you want to protect,' he says. 'You should also make sure that the sheet has enough weight to stay in place and isn’t too thin or light.'

'The trick is to lay the sheets over some sort of a structure that keeps them from touching the plants,' Kate says. 'You can use tomato cages, pole bean teepees, old bed frames, or whatever you have handy.'

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PROP THEM UP
There's definitely a right and a wrong way to use bed sheets for this protective purpose, according to Katie. 'The best way to use them is to prop the sheets up slightly so they don't rest directly on the plants,' she says. 'If they touch, then frost damage can be more severe. I like to place tomato cages [available from Amazon] and chairs around my plants to drape the sheets on top of.'

You could also use a lightweight blanket, or 'a tablecloth that has some repellent properties on the top surface, this would work really well,' she adds.

Remember to choose a covering large enough to cover the whole planted area, so it wouldn’t fall down and become tangled up in the plants, potentially causing damage.

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Originally posted by wtg:
Magnolias are pretty tender. Can you see color of the flower petals, or are you just seeing the sepals? I think that's what you call the fuzzy covering over the flower petals. If the petals are exposed even if the buds aren't completely open, I think they could get damaged.

Worst thing that will happen is that flowers will be brown. The plant will survive.