Victims of Frost

17 years ago

I knew it would happen sooner of later and it did. They been doing well at 31-32 in their containers, but this morning it dipped as low as 27 even tho it was forcasted for 31. Some of them still looked good around 9am at 40'ish degrees, but as the day went on they turned to mush :(

I lost some but not all of the following:

Zinnia, Parks Pastel Cutting Blend

Cactus Zinnia

Morning Glory 'Sunrise Serenade'....the only survivors were the ones that just germinated and hadn't yet lost their seed hat :D

Gomphrena 'Stawberry Fields'...re-sowed this morning

Tithonia...just 3 of 7 seedlings. I sowed a few more in thier place.

Amazingly the Cypress Vine, Climbing Snapdragon, Prufusion Zinnia and Tomatoes.

As for established plants it looks as though it zapped my Coreopsis lanceolata! A trip, because this guy is evergreen all winter and then this? Even tripper is that the Coreopsis lanceolata seedlings I started indoors (the one I recieved in trade labled 'Moonbeam'...remember that?), well I planted this little baby outside in March and it is unphased HA HA HA! I'll give it more time before I yank it. I can always go into my wildflower bed and take a clump from there and replace it too.

Tonight is focasted for 33, but next 10 days show upper 30's and low 40's.

Vera

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Comments (7)

irisgirl
17 years ago
Oh Vera, I am so sad for you! Spring weather can be so awfully fickle...I hope you did not lose as many babies as you initially believe. Also wish could "blink" some decent weather your way and send you extra seedlings from my house.

But that cannot be this year as it is my first WS season...but my thoughts ARE with you, and all our friends in the east who have had a nasty recent spring cold system to deal with. Keep your chin up!
christie_sw_mo
17 years ago
Sorry Vera. Hope our warm weather will be headed your way soon.
I'm learning about WS annuals too. They just can't take as much cold can they.
I lost about half of my annual Yvonne's salvia. I had brought them in, but put them out too early in the morning on Easter when it was still below freezing. It took them several days to look completely dead. The leaves were just very pale at first and the stems were still standing up, so I thought they would recover but they didn't. I still have about 10 and could plant some more but I wanted them to get an early start so they'd get tall.
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Having read all the postings ,i will add my bit,I live a stones throw from the beach in Port Macquarie ,and yes I do get frost in my backyard,I have been down to -5 on 3 occasions,rare? yes but it can happen,Now i mainly grow Vrieseas but i have found the plants that suffered the most where the plants with DRY root systems,as the air cools it loses the ability to hold moisture,but the plants still transpire,eventually the rate of transpiration is greater than the plant can supply moisture through its root system as the pot is dry the roots virtually suck in air , the cold then starts leaf collapse (going limp) then airlocks form in the leaf veins ,with moisture depleted the plants is doomed ,the damage is done before the frost get to the plant, its just the final straw,ever notice that in a group of plants there is one or two that suffered and not the rest ? bet that was a plant with dry roots. i know some plants are very cold sensitve and there is little you can do there,but it will be more suspect if the roots are dry. this sounds like it should happen in warm weather But moist air holds warmth so the rate of transpiration slows down.If the humidity is say 90% the plant wont transpire , You ever noticed that a lot of vegies go limp in your fridge ? but if you put them in WET the dont.yet your fridge is COLD This year it was cold but my back yard flooded (and the plants) 5-6 times the plants in my building stayed much drier (cause i could 'nt go out in the swamp) they suffered ,not badly but they did just the same ,the worst place for wet and cold is along my drive way where the best lookin Vrieseas are mocking me ,i have done some dilebirate tests on this and for ME it works, dry roots ? cold damage follows ,i am not saying this will work for you but you can easely test this, and it my not work for all genera, but my Ae.Chantinii's are ok with it ,but they suffer if the roots are dry,anyway i thought i would just mention it , best of luck ,i sympathise with all that lose their precious babies. Jack
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strmywthr3
17 years ago
I lost several of my annuals to a late freeze. they had sprouted early due to warm weather and I didn't move them inside. however, some of my morning glories and nasturtiums look like they may be recovering. the zinnias, cosmos and marigolds look like they bit the dust and will need to be replanted.

not sure about my tomatoes and peppers yet. no sprouts at all on them. I may replant a few just to make sure I get some.

Barbi
vera_eastern_wa
Original Author
17 years ago
Thanks :D

There are still ungerminated seeds in some of those and the other's I just sowed more seed into. The loss coulda been much bigger :O

Oh no I don't believe.. I know they were mush! Thems the breaks tho aye? :)
Actually the weather has been pretty descent all spring really. This was the first time to hit a 27 low. Daytime highs forsure haven't dipped below 44 since 1st of March and for the most part we were mid 50's and low 60's with lows between 31-44...those lows btw are usually no longer than 4 hours max. I guess that's all it took...sheesh.

I'm still looking at self-sown Marigolds that survived...does that mean Marigolds are not as frost tender as we think? The ones in the container didn't suffer injury either. Hmmm?

Vera
sqftgarden_in_wnc
17 years ago
Some of my Cosmos that I thought were dead are coming back and some new seeds are sprouting that didn't sprout while in the container but did in the ground. Perhaps there's hope, Vera.
gardenluv
17 years ago
I lost my marigold sprouts, but there were only 5, so hopefully more will pop up to replace them. They were so cute! :(
brightmoregirl
17 years ago
i lost all my nasturtiums, morning glories, marrigolds, some tomatoe plants, and red salvias. but i planted up more and hoping they will be ready to put in there pots by derby weekend, thats our last frost date here in louisville, may 5th. i saved some seeds to put into the pots after i get them planted so i have extra flowers in them.
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Victims of Frost

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