Future Winter protection questions

Finally got out and surveyed everything this morning and I'm pretty sick at the results of the freeze. This was my first attempt at protecting plants with the PVC hoop or tunnel and it is a total failure. I covered the bent PVC framework over the beds with sheets, attemped to hold them in place with the black binder clips like used in the office. With the rain we had first and then heavy freeze and then snow, it weighted it down on top of the plants and froze the poppies, petunias and larkspur. One small section of poppies and larkspur survived and that's where the covering did not touch them. Not sure about the pincushion flowers. So this morning I'm full of "I wish I had..."

Would heavy plastic have been better to cover with?

Would putting a layer of oak leaves over the plants before covering have helped?

I swear I will be better prepared next time if anyone can just tell me how.

Glenna

I have the some situation here. I have not uncovered yet but just picked trough.
Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts and Kales seam fine.
Cauliflowes are cooked and so are radishes and other tender greens.
In the past even if we had snow, my plants were ok ... but this time I think we were 4 days at freezing temperature ... and that what it did the damage !
Oh well ... I still hope that when I will uncover the veggies next week , the plants will pop up under the warmth of the sun ... and spring is around the corner for us anyway ...
I think we are having one more blast on wednesday ... so keep your cover and good luck !!

You reminded me of a question I didn't ask. Should I uncover things today and tomorrow and let the plants have sun, or is it best to just keep them covered?

I plan to uncover mine and check on them, I will report later on the shape they are in.

The cover I am using let the 85% of the sun go trough , also water.
I will keep my cover on untill the end of the week. Another really cold spell is supposed to arrive next wednesday !!
I hope it is the last one.
If you are using just clear plastic cover, you should let some air go trough if the sun is shinning, otherwise you are making instant stir fry veggies.

I covered only with leaves. Checked a few spots yesterday and found the Columbine and Standing Cypress doing great. My bluebonnets look a bit limp on top but will do fine. Not seeing any permenant damage to anything native.

One thing we do before a freeze is due...run the sprinklers...this hydrates the roots and leaves if there, and they can better prepare for the cold.

This message was edited Feb 6, 2011 10:32 AM

My stuff covered in leaves generally looks good so far, too. Most of the veggies are goners, but some of the col and leaf vegetables froze the sticking up parts, but didn't kill the central part of the plant nestled up under the leaves. All the peas are gone, but for lesser freezes, it's typical that the flopping down ones are fine and the neatly staked up ones die.

In this case, not sure that the survivors will have much time to regrow before it's time to bolt for the summer, but if this long hard freeze had been earlier in the year, I think a decent amount would have been salvageable.


We didn't have enough snow or ice to really weight things down, but that's a whole other thing. I'm not sure that a layer of fluffy leaves would have provided much structural support for your plants that got squashed.

These are the plants in my yard that survived the long freeze and still look good and fresh, so they are truly cold hardy in this zone, they were not covered, but did have leaves around them.

Golden Grounsel, Packera obovata,
Heartleaf Skullcap, Scutellaria ovata,
Brazos Penstemon, Penstemon tenuis,
Prairie Phlox, Phlox pilosa
Lyreleaf Sage, Salvia lyrata
Autumn Sage, Salvia greggii
Big Red Sage, Salvia penstemonoides
Four-nerve Daisy, Tetraneuris scaposa
Lance-leaf Coreopsis, Coreopsis lanceolata
Giant Coneflower, Rudbeckia maxima
White Yarrow, Achillea millefolium

The Columbines that were uncovered will be o.k. but they got frost bitten.
All the plants under the tarps are in fine shape, including the Columbines.
Josephine.

Glenna,

All the information I have read about protecting plants against freeze damage is based on dips just below freezing for a short period of time. We've had 2 episodes of dips down into the teens where the temperatures stay below freezing for days at a time. These are two different situations.

Both require a heat source and cover materials with good insulation properties. For quick dips just below freezing in dry weather, sheets, blankets or frost cloth (They lose their insulating qualities when wet.) and the residual heat in the soil are usually sufficient to protect plants. Plastic will work, wet or dry, as long as it doesn't come into contact with the plants. The soil should be bare to facilitate the movement of heat from the soil to the air surrounding the plant. As winter progresses and the soil cools off, this method becomes less efficient. You will have to seek a different heat source. Old leaves and unfinished compost put down as a thick layer, the thicker the better, will produce some heat as decomposition progresses. Another passive heat source is water. Surround the plants with containers of water. At night the water will release heat. If the container is large enough, it will release heat throughout the night. During the day, the sun will heat up the water.

None of this will be very effective if the temperatures are very low or if the temperature remains below freezing more than a few hours. You would be better off using heavy plastic and an active heat source such as Christmas lights (C7s or C9s) or a small heater. Heat can build up very fast during the day, so the plastic will have to be removed or vented in some way.

lol - My four-nerve daisy is still blooming. The flowers that were open during the deep freeze turned a little gray, but new ones are already open. (It's on the north side of the house, too, not a sheltered location.)

Statistics show that we WILL HAVE WINTER until Easter. This year is the latest it cycles. Last Sunday in April. 24th. You can depend on a "spell" the week of Easter so don't be in too big of a hurry to tell winter goodbye.

Everything in my little greenhouse is already toast. At least half that is in the tool shed is gone. This is with much protection and heaters going full blast. Just can't withstand multiple days in the teens with no let up. The short spell of warm weather is worse. The plants can't decide whether to be dormant or not. In the northern states, it gets cold and stays cold. The plants prepare themselves and go dormant and stay dormant. Our climate is torture.

Snow cover helps up north too. My plants were covered in ice, I know what that means, especially for cacti. Still spring will come and some things will grow and bloom. Other plants will be missed but I will find new plants or replacements and start over. I think gardeners are usually pretty optimistic, always waiting for the next growing season.
C

Yes, things will be o.k. in spite of the cold.

As always, good information BettyDee ~ thanks for sharing your knowledge.
When you post, I will always read it thoroughly as you know far more than I will ever hope to... 8 )

To those who want to cover with plastic, I will add... don't let it rest on your plants.

And we are one day closer to springtime.

I didn't know frost cloth loses it's properties when wet.

The rain transfers the cold temperatures through the frost cloth, but the main reason is that the cold water soaks up the heat from the ground and the air inside the cocoon.

Last year, several of us growing Brugs throughout Texas were trying several methods including using bubble wrap, mini-greenhouses or pipe insulation around the branches in an attempt to keep them from dying down to the ground and having to start the vegetative growth cycle from scratch. I used frost cloth rated to 23ºF to double wrap a Brugmansia planted in the ground hoping to keep it from freezing down to the ground. I had asked my DH to make a frame out of pvc pipes, had help covering the frame with heavy plastic and strapped it to the ground. The Brug continued to bloom under the frame despite last year's multiday hard freeze. I congratulated myself for having found a way to keep my Brug safe. when a front with gusts up to 40 mph went through ripping the plastic off the frame. It was followed by rain and freezing temperatures overnight. The Brug froze down to just below the pipe insulation I had wrapped around the trunk.

This winter, I didn't want to go through all that work only to lose out to Mother Nature so I had it dug out, put into a pot and stuck into the greenhouse. Week before last, it and a number of other Brugs were loaded with buds just beginning to open when ERCOT, who had plenty of time to prepare for the extra power demand, called for the rolling blackout. I lost power for 17 minutes. That in itself wasn't bad, but it was enough time for air to enter the propane gas line and to keep the heater from coming back on. I didn't notice until several hours later and by that time almost everything in the new addition and along the perimeter of the older section had frozen including the Brug I had dug out. This is what my greenhouse looks like now. These setbacks are what we should expect when we push the zones, but gardeners are optimists at heart. :-)

Too bad just a few hours without heat did them in.

Maybe prior cold nights had comprimised them? I know I had some that I left out for longer than others and they lost most of their leaves.