Rapid deployment plant protector

1. A rapid deployment plant protector, comprising:

a polygonal umbrella cover having closed sleeves on a first side and open sleeves on an opposing side;

an umbrella hub;

a plurality of cover stays corresponding in number to the number of said sleeves, each of said stays having a proximal end affixed to said hub and extending radially outward from said hub to a distal end secured in one of said sleeves so as to provide structure to support said cover; and

a vertical support on top of which said umbrella hub is fixedly disposed, wherein said hub includes a base having a top side with hemispherical channels corresponding in number to the number of said sleeves, and a cap with a lower side having hemispherical channels matching those of said base, and securing structures for securing said cap to said base so as to form cylindrical openings for slidable insertion and capture of said stays to facilitate rapid assembly and disassembly and rapid deployment.

2. The plant protector of claim 1 , wherein said polygonal umbrella cover is selected from the geometric shapes consisting of a square, rectangular, triangular, hexagonal, and octagonal.

3. The plant protector of claim 1 , wherein said open sleeves include closure means.

4. The plant protector of claim 3 , wherein said closure means comprises hook and loop closure flaps.

5. The plant protector of claim 3 , wherein said closure means is selected from the group consisting of cable ties, clasps, hook-and-eyes, snaps, buttons, wires, and hook and loop fasteners.

6. The plant protector of claim 1 , wherein said sleeves include a plurality of said open sleeves on a first half of said cover and a plurality of said closed sleeves on a second, opposing half of said cover.

7. The plant protector of claim 6 , further including connector means for joining at least one edge of said polygonal umbrella cover with an edge of an adjoining polygonal umbrella cover.

8. The plant protector of claim 7 , wherein said connector means is selected from the group consisting of hook and loop flaps, cable ties, rope or twine, snaps, hooks-and-eyes, buttons, zippers, and wires.

9. The plant protector of claim 1 , further including connector means for joining at least one edge of an umbrella cover with an edge of an adjoining umbrella cover.

10. The plant protector of claim 9 , wherein said connector means is selected from the group consisting of hook and loop flaps, cable ties, rope or twine, snaps, hooks-and-eyes, buttons, zippers, and wires, wherein a user may couple and gang adjoining umbrella covers to provide a contiguous and continuous cover over a large planted area.

11. The plant protector of claim 1 , wherein said cap includes a surface having a center portion with a screw hole into which a screw and washer combination may be are disposed to secure and center said umbrella cover to said cap.

12. The plant protector of claim 1 , wherein said base includes a receptacle for receiving said vertical support.