This morning it got down to 24 degrees so we went out there and this is what we found.
Please click on the link to see all the pictures. We had a lot of fun.
http://www.texasstar.org/a-frostweed-morning/
Show us yours if you have pictures too.
Josephine.
Now that is VERY interesting! I think I may have some seeds for that, will have to check it out! Thanks for the show, it was cool!
Happy Holidays!
Darn, it is fireweed I have!
Pretty! I checked out by the dry creek after I saw this. There were just a few with damaged stems on closer look. I think I may have had a few that did it last time, but I didn't get out there to look last time early enough in the morning to see the ice. This time it only got down to 27.7°, was 26° last time. I wonder how much difference it makes during a dry fall like this one. Will try to get out there to look next time we have a real low one. Almost all of the frostweed stems are still undamaged and none in the yard show any damage (I have a few in the yard, but lots by the dry creek).
BTW, that Basketflower plant is probably too damaged by the last freeze to survive, so no more blooms!
This message was edited Dec 23, 2007 11:45 AM
Linda, I noticed that the big woody stems did not crack, so it must need lower temperatures for the big stems to explode, I think the amount of moisture makes a difference too. We were lucky to have those. They are all melted now.
We had a fun morning doing this, now it's off to church and the Christmas presentation.
Josephine.
They are beautiful Josephine! I had company in from out of town and was up cooking breakfast this morning, and never thought to go out and look. :-( Maybe next year.
Now I know what Frostweed is. I had never heard of it before!! Really beautiful formations. Thanks for the education, frostweed.
Thanks again, Josephine.....for the beautiful "Frostweed - bursting" photos! I'll be showing them to some of the family members when they arrive today (gardeners too)...such a fascinating characteristic!
We had 25 night before last,....31 last night.
Woohoo! I got the Frostweed ice slushes this morning by the creek! Down to 26°, must have been for long enough to count! Will post photo later, gotta run!
All right Linda, looking forward to seeing your pictures.
Josephine.
Now I need a start. Count me in the next RU, Jo.
Alright!! More frostweed aficionados, this is great!! You got it Christi.
This kind of shows that the stem bursts and splinters. A lot of you probably know that when water freezes, it has to expand in volume, so that stem breaks. Frostweed must save a fair amount of water in its stem. And, of course, we know that water pipes can burst also.
That is so cool. Now I too know what frostweed is.
That was so cool! Thank you for taking the time to share your pics with us.
Where there is a lot of Frostweed, it's really noticeable, like if you're driving by a stand of it in the morning before it melts. But not all the stems will have it at the same time. Usually it'll happen again, especially if the next freeze is even lower. I just wonder if there's any other plant that does this. Why just Frostweed around here?
Linda, I don't know of any other plant that does that. Very nice pictures of your Frostweed.
Josephine.
Odd, this thread caught my attention. The photos display such an interesting phenomenon.
This a.m. after looking at your photos, I went out to walk and noticed a similar display on the stems of my Salvia coccinea... Many of the stems had burst. Our temp was 27 this morning.
Had I not seen your thread, I would have had no idea what was going on here... We recently had a good deal of moisture which may have caused this.
Salvia coccinea ~ Lady in Red... or Lady in Frost! Brrrr....
This is a close up of the Salvias' burst stems... I have it potted and hope the roots will be all right.
Interesting! One term I came across was "ice blossoms". BTW, both those kind of plants are nectar plants for the butterflies.
Very neat Podster, I will have to keep an eye on the salvias and see if they do it here too. Now we know of another plant that does it.
Josephine.
I must admit it surprised me. But thanks to you all... I would not have appreciated it with out the education you are giving me! Merry Christmas!
I had posted a photo of this in the A&S forum and this info was interestingly shared by Rich_dufresne
Those are classical examples of frozen and burst vascular systems. The antifreeze content of Salvia sap is minimal. The faster growing the sage, the more spectacular the effect of freezing. It happens with most of the really tender new world sages.
For those who are not familiar with Frostweed, Verbesina virginica;
http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=VEVI3
Here is one of my young plants;
The plant in full bloom in my garden.
The plant in the fall showing some unusual coloring on the leaves and the seed heads.
The plant doesn't always turn colors but it does happen some years.
Wonderful - stunning show wish I was homem to check mine!!
What an interesting plant! It blooms and create this cotton looking stuff? How so?
I was on vacation when I first saw this thread, but my curiousity was peeked enough that I looked it up. I've never lived in an area where this would occur. Or maybe it has and I didn't know where to look. Our temperatures in this area have been warmer these past 6 winters. The lowest it has gotten is 23ºF for a few hours in the middle of the night and usually during a storm — a time when the smart thing to do is to stay indoors safe and warm. By the time morning chores are done and I can go outside, the temperature has warmed enough that the ice has melted. We have had only a small handful of days where the ice has lasted more than a few hours. I did find out more than anyone would care to know on ice ribbons aka ice flowers:
http://www.biosurvey.ou.edu/okwild/frostweed.html
http://www.ilstu.edu/~jrcarter/ice/
http://www.ilstu.edu/~jrcarter/ice/links/
Great links Betty!
if you touch it, josephine, what does it feel like?
It is very light and powdery and it crumbles very easily, and it only lasts a short time, it melts quickly because it is so light, something like fluffy snow.
So you have to go out there early in the morning after a good freeze to check it out.
Josephine.
Wednesday morning we will be colder than we have been so far per the weather man.
Geez! It's supposed to get to 20° here....I'm freezing just thinking about it.
well, josephine, will the same plant do it more than once in the same season?
I don't think so, because once the stem bursts the juices are gone, but if the plant had more than one stem and some of them did not burst the first time, it could happen more than once on the same plant, but on a different stem.
Josephine.
