Plant hardinessbased on actual temp or wind chill?

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zone5girl Painesville, OH(Zone 5b) Jan 26, 2007

It's not like I can prevent my not-hardy-to-my-zone-plants-that-I-was-too-lazy-to-dig-up from dying, but I was curious. If it goes by actual temp, some might stand a chance. If it goes by windchill, a whole lot of things are goners after the bitter cold we had last night. Tamara

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dogmansis Wimberley, TX(Zone 8a) Jan 27, 2007

I'm relatively positive its the actual air temp and not the "real feel". Seems I heard that somewhere...its not the wind, but the temp.

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Murmur Whidbey Island, WA(Zone 7a) Jan 27, 2007

Zone5, what a great question, though - I hadn't even thought of it!!!!

Dogmansis, hope you're right!

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bigcityal Appleton, WI(Zone 5a) Jan 27, 2007

Wind chill only effects living creatures that create their own internal temperature. I used to have this arguement with a roommate who swore his car was effected by windchill, and he was a college graduate ;)

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Equilibrium Jan 27, 2007

Technically speaking, I believe Al is correct. Has to do with ambient temps.

Flip side of the coin is that winds can be directly responsible for dessication. My Azaleas and Rhodos come to mind. These plants will fare far better against high winds if watered regularly throughout winter when there isn't adequate snowfall, sprayed with a product such as WiltPruf, wrapped in burlap, decorated with Christmas lights, or planted close to a house. It's been my experience that a winter drought can be far more damaging than a summer drought for just this very reason.

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zone5girl Painesville, OH(Zone 5b) Jan 27, 2007

Thanks, everyone! This has been a wet winter, so nothing will suffer from drought. I'm actually more worried about some of the things rotting. *sigh* Guess I'll find out soon enough. Tamara

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4paws Citra, FL(Zone 9a) Jan 27, 2007

Good question, thanks for posting it!

Al, I've had similar discussions - with the idea that a blanket will keep a car warm, but it will only hold the heat that is already there for a limited period, not keep it at a certain temperature. :-)

Lauren, it's a little clearer now why winter watering is important.
Thanks!
:-)

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Equilibrium Jan 27, 2007

Eeek Tamara, winter rot! I've had that happen before and with the unseasonable warm temperatures this year, I suspect I'm going to lose some plants too.

The winter drought deal can be real trouble.

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Murmur Whidbey Island, WA(Zone 7a) Jan 27, 2007

Good reminder to me to water under the eaves - especially by the garage where the wind blows through.

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