When I lived at home with mum, I used to move all the tender plants to the house wall, then wrap pots in lots of layers of newspaper or card, tied with string - this was before the days of fleece that I was aware of - and then heap straw or wripped newspaper over the tops of the pots. Often it is the root ball that freezes and kills the plant. I would however use old net curtains to make a tent like structure around those that I was very worried about and use straw where possible. It wasn't pretty, but I never lost a plant and I have cacti, palms, passionflowers and alsorts out there. I don't think our winters are as cold as they used to be, but it is the wetness and wind that seem to do the damage. The wind plays merry hell with my bananas in the garden, wripping the leaves to shreds. They get gently wrapped up with a thick mulch of straw around the base.
