outside temp 27. Inside my hoop house temp 32 ! During the night an extension that I was using tripped the reset button and the lights went out. My husband told me at 6:30 this a.m. "I think the lights are out in your house". I jump out of bed and go running down there in my jammies.
Any hope for my brugs, yes they were all in there. The leaves feel frozen. Should I cut the trunks back to the soil. Is there any hope they will put back out. :(
Live and learn.
charlotte
Well..I'm heartsick this morning...
Leave them. Don't cut anything until you know what's what. A fairly short time at 32 might not have caused all that much damage. I say just hold off until temps warm up and they begin to recover and you see exactly what froze and what didn't.
Let them thaw out, you will be able to see some damage immediately. Check the stems, if they feel mushy, cut them back to where the bark and flesh is firm. Some damage may take a week or more to show up, but just keep an eye on them. Clean up the blackened leaves to keep botrytis from starting and don't over water. When they start new growth you may see some nutrient deficiencies, use a liquid plant food as a foliar spray when they get new leaves.
Charlotte,
I'm so sorry to read about this happening to you, I'd be sick too.
I hope they will bounce back for you.
Jackie
Sounds like some great advice here for you Charlotte...I am so sorry about your hoophouse and what happened with your cord. Chin up, I really don't think they'll be too much damage after they thaw out. It got down to 28 last night and that's not including the wind chill factor here in Harlem, USA Brrrrrrrrrr I just wish it would be Spring already!
Julie
Yes, Julie that wind yesterday was nasty.
Thank you all. Someday I hope to have a "real" greenhouse. Maybe all will not be lost.
I'm going to find some way to have a small heat source that is not electric. I could use a kerosene lamp but that is too small. My dad has a kerosene heater but my hubby and I felt that would be too much. My hoop house is about 6' x 7' by 6 ' high.
I will watch and see what happens. And I should not be watering too much ?
thanks
charlotte
Charlotte -- I too hope that all is not lost! That's always been my biggest fear with my little GH too... Please keep us posted and let us know how it turns out for you. I bet they'll be okay :)
Oh how sad, Charolette. You've got some great advice about what to do. Even if the leaves are affected....I would doubt the roots were completely destroyed because it doesn't sound like the brugs were exposed for a real long time. Instead of spending a bunch of money on another heat source.....why not consider a temp. alarm ? This could alert you if the electricity goes out. I found one here : http://www.charleysgreenhouse.com/index.cfm?page=_search
There are probably other places who offer these alarms at lower prices on the web.
Keeping my fingers crossed for a good outcome for you!!!! If something bad does happen to some of your brugs ...PLMK. I might be able to help you to replace them.
Renee -- that's a great idea! Thanks!!! Unfortunately your link turned up a blank page, but I will look for it. Gretchen
Renee's right. Those little remote thermometers are priceless if you need one.
We got ours on sale at a farm supply store (Farm & Fleet ) for 10$ , normally around 20$
Gives indoor & outdoor temps and has a clock on it.
-and-
Minimum low temp alarm
Maximum high temp alarm
Just about any hardware or big box store carries at least on model. Usually more.
....... Our model is The Weather Channel brand ( yup the same one )
You pay for the mount of features you want.
You can get one that only feature in & out temps and
a minimum temp warning alarm.
Last year they were harder to find but this year seems like everyone has them.
This message was edited Mar 2, 2005 11:07 AM
Charollete chin up girl it will turn out alright. They bounce back quick. At least tlhey were out of the wind. Roots and trunk willl be ok. Trim off the damaged areas and by spring you will be up and going. Ted
How disappointing! Most of my brugs outside got badly frosted early on in November. I lost most of the leaves and some top branches to mush but the rest of the plant survived. It is amazing how fast they put out new leaves. I will be hoping for you!!
Charlotte, this same thing happened to me too, I did what they told you to do, waited to see what was going to happen. I then cut off the wilted dead part, and every single one came back, hang in there, I was heart broken too when it happened tome, We fixed the Greenhouse problem too LOL
kathy
They should recover fast now that it's almost springtime. Mine that got frozen at Christmas are blooming. I was so surprised at how fast they recovered. Some I lost down to the ground, some only about halfway down. It wasn't so much the size of the plant that made the difference in how much damage they suffered and how quickly they recovered, it was the variety of plant.
Charlotte, I cross my fingers, that they will be okay and they should. Leaves might be frosted off, but the rest should be intact. In a matter of pure survival, the hardwood can take more cold, than we imagine.
I had severe frost damage in 2002. We were surprised by 23 F. I had been delayed in finishing the conservatory and had them in the garage and outside. I lost real many, but real many only lost leaves and green stems. Several was also literally cut back to the ground to prevent frosted stems to distribute fungus to the basal part and root system.
Thank you all. It does help to have folks who understand how upsetting this is. I cant believe those temp things are so cheap. I told my husband this morning "when I get a REAL greenhouse I will get an alarm". I didnt know that was an option now. I will look into it right away.
I even went outside and put a sheet over the house last night as Kell suggested. But I also turned the little pelonis heater up "just a bit" and that was "just a bit" too much.
I've got to go down there in a bit and check things out. Thanks for your concern.
charlotte
Charlotte, did you put the sheet on top of the plants or the house? I put mine right on top of the plants here outside at night when it looks like it will frost. I saved my potted bougainvilleas this year in my courtyard. For some reason the potted ones there die every winter!!
well, I put the sheet on the top of the house but with 30 mph winds and no heat inside it didnt help much :)
I did have good intentions though :)
Oh, I have one of those dealies. It alarms when it hits 37 degrees farenheit. I have a sensor in my GH and one in my yard, with the receiver on my kitchen counter. It works great! I bought it a couple of years ago at Radio Shack.
And Charlotte, I have to tell you that many of my brugs that I overwintered in the ground are starting to put up new shoots. We had one hard freeze, so yours should be okay at the roots. Gretchen
Thanks Gretchen, I hope so.
Things were ugly in the greenhouse but time will tell. All the leaves were yucky expect for the ones on whiskers? Some of them showed obvious stem damage, others I am unsure about. Gonna be cold again tonight so I have run another stronger amp cord for the little heater.
:)
And cover the plants themselves. It really helps! I even used towels on the stronger brugs. Croossing everything here for you!