Freeze warning! What to do???

After about two weeks of temperatures in the 70s there is a freeze warning for Wednesday night and it is supposed to be below freezing at night at least through Monday. Although I haven't planted anything delicate outside yet (our last frost date is Mother's Day), my daylilies, rudbeckia, and irises have all sprouted (they're about 8-10" tall right now) and most of my shrubs and trees are in bud. Should I attempt to cover my perennials, or are they hardy enough to withstand several days of hard freeze?

I'm not sure if this freeze is going to do more damage to my plants or my psyche! (Man I'm tired of cold weather.)

pam

As long as the flower buds are still underground yet they'll be fine.

One year though my Wisteria was in total flower budding mode and a hard freeze killed every flower bud. Talk about heartbreaking...

Tom

The Weather Channel is predicting lows here of 27 to 30 every night starting Thursday and ending Monday morning.

I don't believe it for a minute.

Which probably means it will happen.

On other threads about this weeks weather for some in western PA, that I recall, they're using leaves mounded up around plants, burlap and boxes over some (a brick on top will help if it gets windy). Good luck. Let us know how you made out.

We have a winter storm watch for tomorrow afternoon into tomorrow night. Freezing rain, followed by snow. I'm due to get some early spring planters from Garden Crossings tomorrow. Oy.

Yeah, TWC is calling for evening temps as low as 20 through Monday night here. Ack...

Pirl, on what forum did you see the discussion about the cold in western PA?

pam

This message was edited Apr 3, 2007 9:04 PM

I'll find it and come back here with the link.

http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/708489/

Thanks for the link! Will be covering up what I can tomorrow afternoon.

pam

Good luck!

I say good luck too! Hey Arlene, I was asking about you the other day. How is your yard coming???

Here's my weather for the upcoming days. I can't believe it's such a cool one!

Good luck Pam. There is a big difference between reachig 30 and reaching 20 at night. Your weather sounds like a threat to any buds.

Anita - our 40's would thrill some of the people that are out covering up plants, putting leaves around others, covering some with plastic bags (tied at the ankles or weighted down), etc. I'm so far ahead of former years! Right now, comparing gardens to photos I took last year, I'm three weeks ahead. I did start March 3rd and only finished 2006 on Jan. 14, 2007.

I live in the city of Pittsburgh, Pa. Everything is in bloom - and I mean everything. Even my Elsa Spaeth clematis has big flowers on it. I have been watching the weather report and the "real feel" temperature at night is supposed to be in the single digits. Part of me wants to cover everything (how do I do that?); I have a very large garden. Part of me says,"Let nature take its course." What happens to the roses that are starting to turn green and branch out? On Accuweather one of the headlines said "winter back with a vegance." It is just so beautiful this morning seeing the trees in bloom and come this Saturday, they may all be frozen stiff!

I just received this from Hydrangeas Plus:


If you get severely cold weather (20s), you'll need to wrap and mulch them up really well again. Definitely watch out for frosty nights (30 to 35 degrees) and cover the plants for the night. The reason it's so critical is you don't want to lose the blooms due to the hard frost. You shouldn't lose the plant but blooms will be much more sparse if you get a hard frost.

Right now, the kitchen is hosting four 1-gallon pots, two 72-cell seedling trays, and six recycled plastic containers. They're all full of good rich dirt and bulbs, rootstock, or seedlings.

We're all -- human, animal, and plant -- safe from the storm tonight.

The toaster has been displaced to an awkward corner next to the oven; it's been moved so that a seedling tray can have the spot near the window.

To toast his morning muffin, that man of mine must perch between the sink and the stove.

There's another seedling tray on top of the microwave, in front of the other kitchen window. There is no counter space. We're starting calla lily bulbs and anemones in recycled plastic containers. (The callas are sprouting, hooray!)

I like gardening.
I love living with a man who understands that he'll share his kitchen with a garden during the early spring.

Best wishes for a good Spring, all!

Welcome to DG - I don't know how I missed you!

Yes we will be getting some frigid temps here too in the next several days. Lucky for me though nothing has really starting coming up yet....I am not too worried about much at this point. I feel for those of you who need to go and cover up your plants though... Good luck and may your plants be safe.

Hello Weather!

With the wind chill factor it's 23F here, now. Jack is braving the cold to walk our Harry (our canine son). The magnolia and clematis are my main concerns.

I had to plug in the bird bath as the water was frozen! [I have a deicer on it]