Comments on: What Happens to Plants After an Untimely Freeze Part 2

By: Jackie

Jackie — Tue, 25 May 2010 16:01:46 +0000

I covered my new spring planted endless summer hydrangea with dead leaves in the fall. This Spring, after removing the leaves close to the base of the plant, I pruned it back quite low to promote a bushy plant. It started to grow beautifully, but then the threat of frosts came.[Big surprise]. Icovered the plant both nights with two layers of sheets and fortunately, it was not harmed. It is now the size it was before I pruned it![May25]. I am new to growing this hydrangea, so I am thrilled it is doing so well. My only complaint is that it soakes up water like a sponge, and I am forever watering it as soon as it shows the first sign of a wilt. I should also mention that I fertilized it twice with Miracle Grow for acid loving plants. I am keeping my fingers crossed that it continues to do well this summer. I hope this helps someone new to growing these beautiful plants as I am.

By: A.R.Wadoo

A.R.Wadoo — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 16:28:30 +0000

Spring can be tricky for our plant friends, when snow storms attach us in late April even many plants are damaged t physical as wll as phsiological.

By: eliz

eliz — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 00:04:08 +0000

I think these special macrophyllas are never going to be completely successful up here. I protect mine with shrub coat, but I honestly don’t know what difference it makes.

By: Donalyn

Donalyn — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 13:49:59 +0000

We had much the same results here Kathy - this has been a spectacular year for lilacs and the freezes didn't faze them a bit. Our entire property is still littered with little "burned" tips of choke cherry and ash branches. I am not expecting my astibles to bloom because of how damaged the ends are and I will have to cut off some hosta leaves, but other than that, so far everthing looks fine. We covered the veggies with planks and straw, and I brought in all of the annuals, but I didn't cover anything else. Daylilies can typically deal with a frost, but we will have to see if the blooms suffer. On the plus side all the bamboo was killed back nearly to the ground - coming back now but it will not get nearly as bothersome this year. Sumac also is just stating to leaf out again - some people don't like sumac, but I think it's pretty so we just confine it to a few spots. We will have to comapre notes later on to see how things do the rest of the season. Donalyn’s last blog post..Checking In

By: Les

Les — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 00:29:18 +0000

My sympathy and empathy to you. After being in the business for more time than I care to remember, I know which plants we have to watch out for in the spring. March is our bad month but sometimes early April can be surprising. What to drag in or cover, what to leave out always the burning questions in changing weather. Les’s last blog post..Currituck Garden Tour - Part II

By: Helen

Helen — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 20:45:29 +0000

Kathy, These are dramatic illustrations of dramatic weather conditions. But even the long, too-cool spring has had a negative impact in my USDA Zone 5 garden. Tender perennials such as coleus, for instance, seem in a state of arrested time-warp. One of them hasn’t moved an inch since planting a couple of weeks ago. I’d have been wiser to keep it indoors. However, who knew? This has been a wacky spring (frost warnings overnight last night in the greater Toronto region; the morning of June 1st!).

Sorry about your hydrangea. Hope it rebounds for you.

By: Mr. McGregor's Daughter

Mr. McGregor's Daughter — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 19:47:51 +0000

This is all so fascinating! I can't believe how dramatic a change the Hydrangea undergoes. I tried to protect some of the buds of my Cladrastis kentukea, but they still got zapped. The weird thing is that some unprotected buds appear to be ok. It will be interesting to see if it blooms at all this year. Mr. McGregor's Daughter’s last blog post..A Grand Day Out at the Chicago Botanic Garden Part I

By: Annie in Austin

Annie in Austin — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 18:58:22 +0000

Wow! Those before and afters of Hydrangea and Columbine are very dramatic, Kathy. Some of my worst cold damage this year didn't come from cold air, but from the hail storm at the end of March. The damage didn't show up right away either, but in addition to leaf & branch breakage or chipping, many plants turned out to resent having a couple of inches of hailstones sitting on them for several hours. Some showed freeze damage or stopped growing for weeks, others died quickly. It's surprising how some plants can look so frail and be so tough. Annie at the Transplantable Rose Annie in Austin’s last blog post..Garden Bloggers Bloom Day, May 2009

By: What happens to plants after an untimely freeze? Part 1 — Cold Climate Gardening

What happens to plants after an untimely freeze? Part 1 — Cold Climate Gardening — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 18:27:35 +0000

[...] Continued in Part 2, where I illustrate how appearances can be deceiving, what happens to trees and shrubs, and a few plants unfazed by the dramatic temperature drop. [...]