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Cottage Gardens

So how did everyone's flowers do after the freeze?

12 years ago

I see my many of my daffs and especially the tulips are bent over with some laying flat on the ground. My Crown Imperials that were already tall and in bloom are bent way over, and the anenomes that I consider tough plants look a little sad with some leaves dark. They aren't very tall yet. Flowering trees and shrubs look ok.

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Comments (7)

scully931
12 years ago
Sounds like it could have been worse.
My tulips are also on the ground. Looks like it didn't get as much as I thought it would. Thank goodness!
schoolhouse_gw
Original Author
12 years ago
Upon my inspection this morning, things DID fair worse than I first realized. My butterfly bushes - not looking good, the new leaves are dark and shriveled. The anenomes - looked ok yesterday but today new growth is limp and some of it very dark and lifeless. Surprised me. Anenomes just are always one of those flowers that I never worry about. I tried to looked deeper into the center of the plants to see if any new leaves are coming and there might be some but not a whole lot. It's still early though.
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I did not cover any thing in the ground just some pots I had stuff started in...and they were mostly moved to the garage on the really cold nites. So, I did have some damage. But I don't think I'll do anything to the plants. My day lilies near the house seem OK, but the ones out in my yard got nipped by the cold and are kind of yellowing. The cheap DL have seem to have done better than the more expensive DL. My mums were also nipped by the cold. My pansies just seem to grow bigger the colder it got. My peonies seem to be OK. And only one hosta seems to have some damage. I'm not planting any annuals until Armed Forces Day (May 21) eventho my neighbor is planting annuals as I write this. It could still snow.. (lol)
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When we lived down in Texas City years ago, I was given a Vitex seedling by a co-worker. She said hers dropped seedlings everywhere and she was always having to dig them up to give away or discard. The plant was 1' tall when she gave it to me. It was probably 15' tall by the time we sold that house, well above the 6' decorative fence piece it was planted in front of. It bloomed prolifically every year after the first. Never once did it drop a seedling underneath it that I can recall. As I, too, always heard they are invasive, I have always wondered if some are indeed invasive but some are NOT. Perhaps there are male and female Vitex? Or perhaps just some Vitex cultivars in the species are invasive? The Vitex tree already planted by the former owner in my current yard has never dropped a seedling either in the 5 years we've lived here. It's in a large bed that is never mowed or weed-whacked, so I'd sure see them if it were creating babies.
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Annie
12 years ago
When we get late frosts in spring, The Heathen and I go out and cover as many as we can with brown paper bags anchored to the ground with small rocks. (don't use plastic bags). For shrubs and roses, I use sheets or lightweight blankets held up off the plants with sticks. It works very well. A few may get scorched a bit, but the base is okay. We have saved Tulips and Daffs this way many times.

I do this with my veggies too.

I hate springs when late frosts/freezes ruin everything.
gardenweed_z6a
12 years ago
schoolhouse - sorry about your butterfly bushes. I'd been thinking about whacking mine back but held off wondering if we'd get a freeze. Now I'm glad I waited.

The daffs are laying on the ground but they'd been blooming for several days before the frost hit. I covered my hydrangeas that had sent out new growth--used sheer curtains held on with clothespins. Anywhere the wind blew the curtains off, the leaves are turning black so we definitely got a hard freeze. I covered my hosta and cushion spurge with folded sheers held down with rocks and put a couple of light-colored 3-gallon pots over the new growth on my E. Pow Wow Wild Berry plants. Those appear to be fine. The tall phlox also seems to have weathered the cold.

The wind blew two of my winter sown milk jugs off their tables so at least one of them is toast. The campanula had sprouts in it so I'm hoping those weather the storm (pun intended).

sweetannie4u - I'm with you on that hate thing.
schoolhouse_gw
Original Author
12 years ago
Almost didn't cut back the butterfly bushes but did it just last week. :( Tomorrow night it's suppose to get down to 32 so I'll drag some row cover out and tent it over the anenomes just in case and put handfuls of shredded leaves on some others. They had tall stems with leaves already and most of those are limp and ugly. They are the focal point of my garden so I sure hate to not have blooms this year. My phlox seem fine,too. My friend's hydrangea also got hit badly.

I don't recall ever having perennials freeze like this, but then again this is no ordinary Spring.
Annie
12 years ago
That is just terrible!!!
Seems like our typical Spring weather moved north this year. We have not had any temps lower that 38 for more than 6 weeks. Bizarre! I'm not complaining on our part, mind you, but I sure feel for you guys that are getting our typical crappy spring weather - Cold, then warm, hot, chilly, hot, cold, warm, hot, & etc like that for a few weeks, everything starts growing and starts to bloom, and then freeze!
I am so sorry for your beautiful gardens...
threedogsmom
12 years ago
My hydrangeas are toast unfortunately. I also had heavy leaf damage on one leafed out hosta, but thankfully the lilies that had emerged seem ok, and so do the peonies, all of which have set flower buds already. Clemmies have flower buds too and seem to be ok. My butterfly bushes also sustained damage, but I don't think it matters as much as frost damage to hydrangeas. probably won't see any blooms from them this yr. Hope this is it for awhile....
Amy

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