Cold snap acomin'

Just heard on the news those of us in the nice toasty 80's mid-west are in for a "cold snap" next week. Guess my husband and I can huddle together under a sheet cause the blankets sre going to be on the plants.

The weather channel says 30 degrees or so Sun and Mon for lows. If that is the case my lilies will have to fend for themselves. Some battles are just to hard to fight, like Wisconsin spring temperature swings.

Yeppers, Andrew, I know the feeling. I have a lot of stuff that will have to fend for itself.

Diann

Just how cold is too cold for lilies and seedlings? Is 32, or 31?

I don't know...

Andrew, I have way too many to cover too. So all I can do is hope for the best. Guess we'll find out soon how low of a temperature they can take, then we can share that info here. That's one thing I'd really rather not have to find out on my own though.

I hear ya.

Please just not 18 degrees. A mild frost and I think things should be fine, but a major one like last year this late ? NOT!

Last year was just a sick joke ;*)

I'm praying its not too bad. The last days of Passover start Fri night so no gardening Sat or Sun. Guess I can run out with the blankets Sun after 10pm. I can have my son hold the flash light while I wrap. Just took these of my Casa Blancas yesterday. I'd be heartbroken if I lost them.

I think Magnolia is right, a light frost they can take. It's when it gets down into the teens and twenties and stays that way that they're doomed.

What happens will happen and there really isn't much we can do to stop it. At least I can't with the square footage I have in gardens. So we might as well relax a bit. :)

Diann

Hey Guys,
I just went through the same cold snap thing. It was down to 26 to 29 degrees for about 3 nights. Just so you know, my lilies made it through just fine. ;o) Hope that helps.
Sherry

Sherry, that does relieve a bit of tension. Thank you. :)

Sherry were any unfurled yet?

You're welcome, Diann! I was worried too!

intercessor,
Not quite sure what you mean about unfurled. I have a lot though and they are in many stages from noses just sticking above ground to a foot or so tall. All still looking good!
Sherry

Oklahoma
going to drop temps down lower then i want
just planted some tender stuff .
I know i am getting old and grouchy but the last two year gardening has been too changing for my tired body

I'll second Sherry's experience. It was a little warmer here, maybe 30', but we got some snow off an on that would melt and then come back, so things were wet as well. I covered some and left some uncovered and I can't honestly tell the difference. My tallest one so far is almost 2ft tall and looks fine. Now I just wish we'd start breaking 60!

just hit here i was out taking pictures of iris
and temp dropped about 15 °in a second
winds changed to north and gusting hard.
after i got inside lighting rain for about 15 minutes now just cold
not looking good for new plantings
DRAT ! DRAT ! and ^%#@ for hard core readers LOL

What is the temp there, Tazzy?

Its here! Was out taking pics of my jack-in-the-pulpit that are just coming up. Same as
Tazzy, temp dropped, wind came up and now its thundering lightning and pouring like the clouds have been unzipped. All in the space of maybe 5 min. Oh you lucky people where its going to stay warm.

Its gonna be cold, brrrrr.

Wow,15F in OK is really saying something!

And another wow, I didn't think lilies in general could take those temps like you had in Washington at those stages.

The forecasts around here vary wildly. Some saying 32 for a night or two, while others are saying down to 29 for several nights. Owell, at least I have a 2 foot high lily growing in my house.

Just CRAZY weather everywhere. The news said 26F tonight and online it says 30F. So who knows??? But it's suppose to warm up after that. The daytime is nice now, but when the sun goes down it gets cold FAST!

Good luck everyone. I think our lilies are tougher than we thought. And that's a good thing. ;o)
Sherry

Well, those were the overnight lows, the daytime temps were around 40. (Brr, not what I want in April!)

Wind chill here now 24. Brrr. Chance of snow flurrys. AARRRRGGGGG

Ok, so is it the cold or the frost that damages plants? I mean how does a blanket protect a plant from freezing?

I guess I always thought it kept the warmer air in & the colder air out. I feel a lot less concerned about this weather as compared to last year. I think before I worried about all of this temperature fluctuation, everything most often turned out fine. I might cover a couple annuals I bought already when I shouldn't have, but everything else must fend for itself ^_^ Truly I just don't have enough of anything to cover all of these plants in the yard.

I guess tonight is suppose to be the coldest. Since it is sunny I may cover somethings that have more leaves out and some seedlings.

I feel so bad for all of you who pour your all into your gardens, tend them like beloved children and enjoy and share them w/others --- then a cold snap comes along and really zaps much if not all your hard work and hopes. We here in the lower 48 are so fortunate that we have a long growing season and we don't really appreciate the fact that the weather turns warm early in the year and stays that way, mostly. I think we are supposed to go from highs in the 70's-80's to about 20-30 degrees cooler tomorrow w/rain. Some of us will curse the cold snap, some embrace it but as usual none can do a darn thing about it except be glad we planted stuff that can take whatever the weather dishes out short of a tornado, gully washer, hurricane or really hard, long freeze. Hopefully all your plantings will survive and do well for you.

Ann

Don't forget that other weather horror, the dreaded hail!

They claimed it was going to be 31 last night and it didn't quite make it, but it was close. Frankly, having lost a ton of stuff in past years I took a bunch of cheap terra cotta pots and was running around my garden last night with a flashlight, covering all my lilies and wrapping a temperamental rose in burlap. But I missed a few and this morning they seemed fine. And I notice they keep adjusting the forecast upward. They were saying 27 for a low in a couple of days, and now they're projecting that the coldest night will be Monday, at 32 degrees.

If you have something you really want to save, and it's going to be really cold, throw flower pots on them (cheap terra cotta is perfect). Plastic pots will work if you can weigh them down with a terra cotta pot saucer (here I get them for 29 cents). But anything works if you can weigh it down. I've done this for the last few years. Last year I lost three fairly mature doublefile viburnums and roses in pots (forgot to take them in) but my lilies all survived. A few years ago I lost them all. I know how heartbreaking it is. I also discovered that trumpets and orientals are sensitive, but orienpets and asiatics are tougher.

Good luck everyone!

Donna

Thanks for your sentiments, plantlady. It really is maddening sometimes living here in the 'middle'; of the states, and the cold fronts, heat waves... seems like it's always something. :) Oh well, every place has their headaches.

Regarding frost versus temperature: yes, there is a difference.

Many people, especially in southern states, know that planting freeze susceptible plants under evergreens, rather than out in the open, can be a saving grace. Evergreens in winter, of course, hold the descending frost up in the overhanging branches, preventing it from reaching susceptible plants below. And however slight, slows the loss of heat radiated from the soil. Of course, this is not an all or nothing scenario, and you will find frost under evergreens, but not as much as in the open surroundings. Tomorrow morning, many of you may be able to varify this with your own eyes.

I was going to try to explain why this is important, but I'm not sure I can do it in a coherent manner, so just know it is true. In the simplest terms, frost is a more immediate loss of heat, and so can be more devastating. I am sure you can find a good explanation if you google a bit. However, when temps go way below freezing, such a frost canopy has little, if any, effect.

So there are actually two reasons for covering plants:
--- 1. To retain ground heat under the cover, and keep the temperature warmer than it would otherwise be.
--- 2. To keep frost off the plants.

To accomplish #1, the more insulation (a blanket), the better.
To accomplish #2, insulation is not necessary.

Of course, a combination of the two is most effective.

Got up and the bird bath didn't have any ice, but within the last hour a thin layer formed. The sun is shining now and the temp is slowly rising. High hopes my little piles of wet leaves and buckets kept the cold away.

The temp here fell from just above freezing overnight to about 29 now. The good news is that after today they should stay above freezing. I hope that's the same for everyone.

Donna

It was 32 deg when I left for work this morning. Didn't see any frost so hoping everything survived too.

WeatherBug says it is 31.6F LOL

Well, my whole yard and gardens were covered in a fine layer of frost this morning. Only time will tell...............

We had cloud cover last night so it didn't get below 32. Dan said the temp was 36 when he came home about 4:30ish this morning. Hopefully we're through the worst of it till fall. I just pray we don't have the same thing happen in May.

Diann