i heard FREEZE.. rather than frost .. it being an issue of dessicated material ... in extended cold temps ...

where are you.. and define FROST...

ken

It's better to wait for a few three consecutive days if at all possible where temps are 37+ during the day and where night lows don't drop below freezing.

Dax

Ken: Oregon, so zone 7? We have snow, ice, freezing rain, and frost

Dax: And the reasoning behind your claim? I know some deciduous plants may be susceptible to ice nucleating bacteria, but conifers?

for what its worth ...

i cut last week between 27 and 34 degrees.. sap was flowing on cutting ...

i am not going out there today to make observations for us ... because its 7 degrees [plus 25 mph winds at 7 am] ... i wonder if the sap would flow when the temp is 7 ... which is FREEZING weather ...

a dormant plant can be literally frozen ... it was my understanding that you dont want to cut frozen material ...

and.. BTW.. its been single digits for 4 days now ... its really frozen ...

i highly doubt.. z7 OR has FREEZE like this ... if it did half your z7 plants would be dead ...

i just dont see where an hour or two of late night superficial frost is equivalent ...

words mean things ... and not knowing you well .. i am wondering if you are equating frost and freeze ... and i am simply differentiating the words ... if your knowledge is way beyond this forgive me ... others may learn from it ...

perhaps the simpler question is.. when do i NOT cut in z7 OR ... lol.. and the short answer may be .... that is why all the mass producers are in OR.. do it ALMOST at will ... [except for that day or two OR acts like MI ... ]

and of course.. the converse is.. when is the understock ready [growing roots] ... and night temps.. of small potted trees.. will be more effected by ambient temps ... the corollary being.. whats the use of cutting.. if the understock is not active .... etc ...

good luck

ken

People who graft have told me. I'm pretty certain it has to do with water molecules and cells.

Regardos,

Dax

in hosta ... what happens with a late spring freeze.. is that the water in the large cells .. explodes the cell walls and the leaf simply collapses to the ground ... what i scientifically call: a gelatinous pile of goo ...

i have no clue if it is analogous with woody stems.. but a cell is a cell.. and how can it survive a graft.. if some of the cell walls are already broken down and rotting from explosion ... the cell destruction ???

one would presume the corollary .... that an intact cell in an otherwise zone appropriate plant.. can 'take' the freezing ...

then i wonder.. if the cell wall failure is part of the problem when we try to zone push ... and i wonder.. if this is similar to sunscald on tree trunks with winter sun ...

so many questions.. so little time ...

ken