How can I help my poinsettias? I knew better!

A heavy chill was coming... I knew better... I should have at least put them up on the covered porch if not in the garage. I live in NE Fla. The temps got down to about 30 here for a short time. Heavy frost on the groung and my babies!
Thought if I watered them heavy that afternoon they would be fine. What was I thinking?
They went from a beautiful bright red to a wilted yucky color. i moved them into the garage last night will put them back out tomorrow for a few days until out next cold front moves in. What can I do to help them? they look horrable! I don't want them to die! The stems are still a pretty green but that is the only green on them. They are the big huge ones that are about 3+ feet tall. I'll add a before and after picture if I can figure it out.
Any suggestions are welcome.
Do need to add the ultimate conversation with DH.
(M)"I need help moving the poisettias"
(DH) why? there is no really hard feeze coming. They are Christmas plants. they like the cold.
(M) No honey they are tender. they came from Mexico
(DH) You told me you got them from Ace down the road!

Thanks for you advice in advance!
Mary

here is the before picture. That is a F150 they are in front of. they aren't the table top variety

here is the after. they are on the right and looking worse!

I love the conversation with your DH! LOL The good news is I doubt they'll die from a few hours exposure to 30 degree temperatures, so if you were planning to keep them for next year then just keep them out of any future cold spells and be patient and they should come back and put out new growth in the spring and look fine next Christmas. But if you were planning to pitch them at the end of the holidays and buy new ones for next year, then if they haven't perked up within a day or two you might as well go ahead and throw them out. Sometimes if it doesn't get very cold things will wilt temporarily but then perk up when they get warm again...but if you saw a lot of frost on the ground and they haven't shown any signs of perking up by now then they probably got damaged enough that they won't get back to looking nice in the short term.

ecrane,
Can you keep them in the pots for next year???Last year I tried planting them and they died soon after. I have 2 I thought I may try t save!! I am a novice to all this! Thanks.

yes, you can keep them in pots. you may if they do not perk up try cuting them down a bit and give them some fertilizer. Remember they do not like alot of water and do not let them sit in water. (in saucer)

You definitely can keep them in pots. If you want them to rebloom next Christmas though you may need to go to some extra lengths to make sure they get the right number of hours of darkness in the time leading up to Christmas. I think I've seen some posts from people whose plants rebloom fine on their own, but if yours don't there are some tricks you can use: http://www.ehow.com/how_5766730_make-poinsettias-bloom.html

The thing about poinsettias is to make sure there is no artificial light from Oct. 1 to the time the leaves turn fully. But they do need to have natural light.

Thanks ecrane and tish.:) I will see if I can get them to survive for 11 months!! I'll check out the link. Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! You can do it, just like a houseplant that is a little particular with watering and light. But it can be done. If it gets leggy, just trim it back anytime or a few times before Sept. 1. Just make sure that you leave at least 4/5 bracks on it. Give it feritilizer during this time too. It is a beautiful plant even when green.

They are still looking pretty bleak but the stems are still green. I have hope! They are camping out in the garage for the rest of the week. When it warms up I'll move them to the back porch that is pretty well enclosed. I have been taking them out for an hour or so each day so they can get some fresh air but then back they go.We are supposed to have lows in the mid 20's all week with highs in the 40"s or 50's. I am moving a bunch in and out when I get home every afternoon. By the time I get them all out it's time to move them back in. I think I'll rearrange them so I just have to open the door and close the door. It is opened the whole time I am moving them so the heat is lost anyway.
I was planning on planting them this spring but I am not a coverer. Moving pots is much easier.
I probly will cover my angel trumpet bases tomorrow night but other then that I just hope the big plants will come back. I got lucky last year with my night blooming jasmine. It still came back to over 6 foot tall with no covers last year. My angle trumps. were over 10 feet but I did lots of covering. They still froze to the ground!
DH is happy with all my plants that I moved into the house too. There is no room at the table to eat so he gets to eat on the couch with out me fussin'!
Thanks to everyone for the help!