in the freezer

17 years ago

Well, my 30 Wave petunia plants that I just set out look great despite the terrible weather this weekend (got down to 25 here). It's all thanks to my hubby who draped them with a tarp and hung a light bulb over them (made sort of a mini greenhouse). We put a digital thermometer with a recall function out there and it showed that it only got down to 35 under the tarp. Wow, that worked great. These things actually started blooming this weekend with this freeze going on! When we pulled the tarp off this morning, we had several lovely rose colored blooms. I guess they are more hardy than advertised.

We do however have a beautiful 30 foot tall tulip poplar that looks just awful now. The leaves had just come out on it in the last week. Now they are seriously wilted and brown. I wondered if the leaves will come back for the summer?

Same for our large boxwoods, all the new growth looks badly wilted on them.

My codolences to all the fruit tree owners... I am sure you have been hit so hard by this terrible freeze.

And despite the temps this weekend, I saw a mosquito flying around this afternoon in my yard.

Comments (6)

lsmcw
17 years ago
My yard is trashed. I had an 8' yellow native azalea that was just opening and all the buds and blooms are now gone. The foliage on the figs, vitex, crepe myrtles, redbuds and others are black and limp. The Fringe tree blooms and leaves are gone. I cut an armful of iris on Friday but still lost a lot of bloom stalks. sigh. Linda
rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
17 years ago
Shrubs and trees will re-foliate. We need to remember, however, that they will do so at great expense to their energy system. Deciduous plants put out all of their new growth by calling upon stored energy reserves, mostly from within the root system. That reserve system will be largely depleted for this second go-around....and NOW there are no new leaves by which our plants can begin manufacturing new energy via photosynthesis. Major stress!

Do your plants a huge favor and mulch them if they already aren't mulched, and keep them watered should we continue in this serious drought that we've been in for over a year. Fertilize conservatively over the next several months, if at all. Plants that have had to refoliate at this time of year need to be able to put some energy back into storage, rather than accelerated top growth all season long.

Evergreen shrubs should have their damaged portions pruned cleanly from the plant; doing so will help those plants heal properly.
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phillip_in_alabama
17 years ago
It is just disgusting. My fringe tree was just opening and it is one of my favorite things in the spring.

I guess we won't have hydrangea blooms this year?
bamadave
17 years ago
Fringe trees in the woods around my area were in full bloom before the freeze. I haven't even noticed, yet, whether the blooms were fried. I imagine they were. I have a Chinese Fringe Flower, and its blooms were partially browned.

I'm not sure about Hydrangeas. A lot of leaves were burned on mine, but the stems look okay... even new ones. 'Blushing Bride' had set flower buds, but it should bloom anyway, since it blooms on new wood. I have a couple of 'Penny Mac' hydrangeas to plant out, and I locked them in the basement to make sure their bude weren't killed! LOL.

Overall, I got off with light damage. Some defoliation of crape myrtles, my fig tree, etc. Nipped new growth on evergreen shrubs. The deciduous hardwoods in the woods in the area generally look fine aside from some burn on a few with newly emerging leaves. Our lowest was 28Â° on Sat and Sun morning.
bama35640
17 years ago
Damage report from Morgan County. Wild plums Black and falling off. European plums black and falling off. Blueberries I coated with ice and post bloom looks ok in the bloom looks bad. Kiwi Vines Black. Fig trees Black. Apricots falling off and damage to the foliage of 7 trees. Peaches verdict is still out but probably history along with the nectarines. 7 large pecan trees 98 percent damage. Was not good here on the homefront.

Bob
kabby_z8
17 years ago
Oh gosh y'all I am SO SORRY to hear about all of the destruction. I had covered all hydrangeas except one. Could have probably gotten away without covering anything except the banana tree leaves. Alo/colocasias okay. A new Golden Delicious tree that I had planted a week ago looks like the leaves are a little discolored, the Red Delicious that was in full flower looks like the flowers are okay. Hostas are fine.
Very saddened by y'alls plight. : (