Dawn, I have some pretty small Rosemary in the ground should I just try to dig it up and bring it in instead of covering them.
Jeana

I think most of mine are still covered under a healthy layer of snow :)

I hope you Angel's Trumpets make it, that's a plant I want to try this year.

Lisa

I'm at 1 degree thursday night and -2 on friday night--yikes! LOL.

Everybody stay warm.

Jeana,

It's your choice.

Do you by chance know which variety of rosemary you have? Some of them are more cold-hardy than others. While most rosemary varieties are only reliably cold hardy to zone 7 (and, therefore, considered tender perennials), both "Madalene Hill" and "Arp" are supposed to be cold-hardy down to -15 degrees and there are some others that have been known to overwinter well in at least parts of zone 6. However, some people who've tried to overwinter those more cold-hardy ones in some zone 6 and zone 5 areas have lost them during the winter, presumably to cold weather.

If you have any of the very cold-tolerant ones I mentioned above, I think they'll be OK even if this week's cold front takes parts of the state down below zero as anticipated. If you know the one you have is only cold-hardy to zone 7, you can either cover it up really well (one way is to loosely pile dry hay or straw or dry autumn leaves on top of the plant and then lay a sheet over the top to hold them in place). And, I'm assuming you don't have heaps of snow all around it and on top of it because snow gives some insulation too and in this case that would be a plus. If they are buried in snow, I would hestitate to pile anything other than a sheet on top of the rosemary at night because the moisture from the snow + hay or straw or leaves might lead to the leaves staying too wet and developing a foliar disease. Remember that rosemary is a Mediterraean plant and normally grows in an arid climate with lower humidity.

You can dig it up carefully and place it in a container with a well-draining soilless mix and move it inside if you want, but if it is a cold-hardier one, you don't have to. Rosemary is just iffy here in the winter. If it is in a real sheletered location up close to the house, it might be fine. This is one of those situations where it can be hard to decide what to do--could be the plants will be fine outside, could be they won't.

Lisa, Y'all still have snow on the ground? Ours is finally gone, but we only got half as much as you.

I don't think the Angel's Trumpets will be hurt too badly. They overwinter in the garage every year and even bloom on and off throughout the winter, but they do get bitten back by the cold once the temperature hits about 18 degrees, and we're expected to go down to about 9 degrees. This is only my third winter to try to overwinter them in the garage and we're going to be colder for a longer period than we ever have before. They have survived one overnight low temp that went down to 1 degree last year, but it bit them back pretty hard and they lost their leaves and flowers and had some dieback on the branches. (It wasn't supposed to be that cold that night, or I'd have moved them inside to avoid it.)

How warm does the garage stay at night? I haven't left a thermometer out there and measured it, but I have sweet peppers and ornamental peppers in pots in the garage and they are still forming new leaves and blooming and setting and ripening peppers, so the nights have to be staying fairly warm in there.

I also have tiny poppy and larkspur plants up and growing everywhere, so I hope they are small enough and tough enough to withstand these cold temps this week.

Dawn

Holy poop. I read the thread title and thought, "Dawn must be crazy. It's already brutally cold!" Then I hit refresh for my weather tab. Holy poop indeed. A high of 15 on Friday? What is this, Siberia?

*wimper*

Diane

Diane,

Well, of course I am crazy, but what does that have to do with the weather? LOL

There is brutally cold and then there is BRUTALLY COLD. I agree with you that we already have been brutally cold and that's one reason I posted this thread, because we are going from bad to worse, so to speak.

Our Mesonet station has been down for two days so I actually have to go outside and look at my own thermometer to see how cold it is. They'd better get that Mesonet station up and running before the really cold weather arrives Wed. because I won't want to go outside and see how cold it is. LOL

I didn't wear gloves outside yesterday morning when I went out to feed the animals, break the ice in the water dishes, and then refill the waterers with fresh water so it could freeze again, and not wearing gloves was a definite mistake. My hands quickly turned to blocks of ice. I've never spent the money for heated waterers but the weather this year is making me think that maybe we ought to.

How cold was it yesterday? It was so cold that I didn't stay out long enough to put out deer corn. I realized that last evening when the deer were standing in the yard staring at the back door from about 25 yards away. So, while hubby was outside with me (in case the deer decided to attack), I went out in the dark and put their deer corn out. They stood and watched the whole time, and then as I headed back towards the house, they finally turned and ran off. I assume they came back later last night to eat the deer corn I risked life and limb to put out for them.

If I had to base my futurecast for Wed-Sat weather on bird traffic at our house, I'd say it is going to be a doozey. We always have a lot of goldfinches at the feeders in the winter, but this week we have dozens and dozens of them, and every other wild bird you can think of.

This is the kind of weather that often freezes underground waterlines (especially very old water lines in small towns like Marietta) and exposed water faucet type lines outdoors. It also is the kind of weather that makes fighting a fire incredibly dangerous because the water freezes so fast.

I don't believe we've had weather this cold since we moved here, and the last time I remember such dangerously cold weather in Fort Worth was probably in the mid-1980s.

As far as I know, we're only expecting brutal cold. They do have a slim chance of rain/snow in our forecast here in southcentral OK, but I don't know if that type of weather is in everyone's forecast statewide. I doubt anything will fall. I certainly hope nothing falls.

Dawn

We were -5 here this morning! and it is milk day! I am not looking forward to it. Supposed to be colder Thursday night.

glenda

Thank goodness I replaced my old water line a few years ago with the newer PVC so won't worry about it. However, I do need to cover my outdoor faucets with a blanket or old rug or something.

I should probably water some of my plants, but still have quite a bit of snow cover on and around them. As mentioned in another thread, I do have borderline hardy plants that may be lost such as Lantana 'Miss Huff', Salvia 'Black and Blue', Calla lilies, and some perennials in pots such as Chelone glabra (Turtlehead), False Indigo (Baptisia minor), and a few others. Most of these are hardy to much colder zones, but should I water them? and group them together under the pines? Don't know if that will help or not.

I am hoping at least that this bitter cold will kill off some of the nasty bugs in the garden this year. We haven't had a cold enough winter in the past to do that very well.

Anyone remember our last bitterly cold winter? I am racking my brain and I don't remember any except way back in late December to early January of 1989.

Susan

Glenda,

I felt cold because it was 18 degrees on my front porch this morning when I took the dogs out, and then I read your temperature and shivered on your behalf. Y'all be careful. If we are going to be bitterly cold here, then I can only assume y'all will be insanely cold there.

Susan, We'll be covering our outdoor faucets of course, and may leave the indoor ones dripping overnight on those cold nights. We've never had our pipes freeze here, but this week's weather will be colder, and for a more prolonged period, than we've seen since moving here in '99.

The garage dogs' crates/beds and the garage plants will be moved inside tomorrow morning, and I am going to keep the cats inside the house and the chickens in their coop during most of the cold spell. The chickens are pretty good about staying inside the coop anyway when it is very cold.

It is a commonly-held belief that cold weather kills off insect pests, but I haven't found we have less after a very cold winter except for grasshoppers and other types that overwinter in soil, and with them I only see a difference if it is a cold, wet winter but not if it is a cold, dry winter.

In your case, maybe the cold will kill those blasted milkweed aphids!

The last cold spell we had comparable to this one was in Texas and I want to say somewhere between about 1987 and 1990, but I don't remember for sure. Y'all made have had other bad ones here we didn't have there since even southern OK is a lot colder than Fort Worth and northern OK is a lot, lot colder.

Daw

Our incoming water lines are fine so far. The only weak spot where freezes happen is where they connect the well, pumps, and cistern. Hubby has that all wrapped in insulation and has a heat light he turns on during cold spells.

However, our drain lines are frozen. We now have a couple of days of dirty dishes piled up. Argh. Hopefully hubby can work his magic on that problem today.

Diane

Diane,

Uh oh Good thing Steve is a magician when it comes to building and fixing things.

Sadly, it will get worse before it gets better.

Hope he gets the drain lines thawed out before you run out of dishes.

Dawn

Hope all is okay for you, Diane.

Dawn, I lived in Dallas for 3 years so I know how different temps/weather is between here and there. I lived in Iowa for awhile, am from Kansas, lived in Massachusetts, Dallas, and here. Seems like differences everywhere I have been. I loved Dallas, if they could just get rid of the traffic, LOL! I learned to go the back routes which were much quicker than say, 635.

Susan

Ya'll stay warm as possible and be careful being out in the brutal cold! We've got a 70% chance of snow on thursday... hasn't snowed here YET. They're saying it's been too cold and dry near the ground, so the snow couldn't make it to the ground. How weird does THAT sound? LOL!

Beth

Susan,

They'll have it easy in Dallas this week. They're only going into the teens, but I bet some of the water mains break anyway like they did in the late 1980s.

Beth,

That has happened here before, where the layers of the air higher up have enough moisture to produce snow, but the lower layers of air are extremely dry and the snow falls from the upper air and evaporates as it passes through the lower layers. When it happens with rain, I think they call it virga. I don't know if it has a different name when it happens with snow. It happens here quite a lot with rain, and has happened here once in recent weeks with snow. Usually, when this is happening the radar shows rain or snow over your area, but you are there and you know that nothing is reaching the ground!

Dawn

Animals are acting like real cold with a little snow and probably windy. One service has raised temps a little. The other is staying firm with some lower temps. The lowest I've seen is for Thursday night of 1. But another is saying
6-8. Either way really cold. After this cold spell looks like several warmer days down the road. I'm ready. I'm always relieved when we get through Jan..

We had a fairly cold winter here 4-5 years ago. The last 3 haven't been that bad. East of here is catching it now. So if we can get through this with only two real cold days I will be happy.

I did some last minute preparing after I got home. Wished I had a little more time. But feel ok if it don't get any colder than they are predicting as we have been colder than that this winter. The prolonged periods is when you freeze pipes ect.

Dawn I hope the hard freezes cuts down on insets and diseases. I've felt it has helped before. And know we've had 3 fairly warm winters and everything has been worse. Also helps if it gets colder south of us. So hoping it helps again.

Hope everyone is able to stay warm and keep everything from freezing and breaking. Jay

Hubby came home with a flame thrower and thawed the drain pipes. LOL He rearranged them, too, so they'll drain better. O guess something had knocked them out of place so water was pooling and freezing. I can't wait for construction to be finished so this sort of thing ceases.

Diane

We had a big day out shopping and running errands with our two year old granddaughter in tow. What that really means is that we took her to the mall so she could play on the indoor playground, ride the coin-operated horses and cars, play at the train table in the kids area at Barnes and Noble and eat a lovely lunch out. Then, on our way home, we tried to squeeze in the errands and shopping while she asked "Can we go home so I can feed the boiedies?" (birdies, but almost said with a Jersey or New York accent). Once home we fed the birdies and filled up all the feeders, put extra hay in all the chicken coops' nesting boxes, refilled the waterers in late afternoon, then drained them at dark so they wouldn't freeze solid, etc.

Tomorrow all the plants come inside as will the dog's crates and bedding. I'll fill up the waterers in the morning and put out feed and scurry back inside to await the arrival of the dreaded blast of cold air.

Jay, Our forecast is getting worse. At first, the coldest night was going to be 9 degrees, then 8, then 7 and tonight the weather guy said "but those of you in the usual low-lying areas (uh, that includes us) may dip down near zero." Did I really need to hear that? When Tim heard the windchill could be in the -5 to -20 degree range, he started taking this cold front thing a whole lot more seriously, and ran outside and hooked up the heating lights in the coops. They also said our slim chance of snow might actually me more of a chance of freezing drizzle if it arrived early before our temps drop too much. (We'll be in the 40s before the front arrives.)

Now it seems all we can do is wait and watch.

Diane, Sounds like hubby worked another miracle and fixed everything right up. What would we do without them?

Do you think construction will ever end? (I'm asking that nicely......it just seems to me that as soon as we finish one project, we start another, so even when we think we are done, we really aren't.)

Any bets on whose place will get coldest? And, since it is going to be cold all over, I guess it doesn't matter.

Stay safe and warm everyone. I need to go look at the weather page to see if they are forecasting hurricanes, plagues of locusts, volcanoes, or whatever.....

Dawn

After reading this I went out and brought in some of my more cold sensitive plants from the greenhouse. The heater's still pumping in there but a few plants prefer to be kept above 60 degrees and it was 42 already this evening in the cold part. DH is currently setting the freeze alarm on the temp thing and if necessary I'll bring in all the others. Of course, as long as the heater is going, I'll keep the peas, thyme, and oregano out there. They can handle a little cold, especially without the wind.

Thanks for keeping us all updated!

I am such a cold wimp. Today, I decided that whatever isn't already mulched well enough outside will just have to take its chances. I'm not stepping out until Mother Nature decides to play nice again. Hrmph.

Diane

And, no, I doubt that the construction will ever be truly finished.

*sigh*

Diane

Thank goodness I got logged in I have been trying for 2 days to log in I'm not sure why I couldn't but it seems fine now.

Thank you Dawn for your advice I went ahead and dug them up since it was just a couple of them and I don't know variety they are.

Tigerdawn,

You're welcome. I try to keep the weather updated here when anything severe/potentially hazardous is occurring because some of our members (especially in more rural areas) still have dial-up internet access which can be very slow (almost impossibly so) at some of the larger weather websites.

I moved all the plants I could inside from the garage. I'm sure the change in light levels will cause some leaf drop but that's OK---I just want for them to survive. I hope your greenhouse plants are OK and that you don't have to get out of bed in the middle of the night to move them.

If the NWS is right about our forecast here in southcentral OK, I'm not terribly worried. But, sometimes we have seen our overnight low plunge as much as 18 degrees colder than forecast, so I have to keep that in mind when trying to decide what to do to protect plants and animals.

It has been a warm and balmy day here today and we made it all the way up to 45 degrees but had no sunshine. The wind chill is a lot colder though.

Elvis came and fixed our driveway today so we no longer have to park down at the road and walk the 300' (uphill, both ways, in the mud, LOL) from the road to the house. Instead of a river of mud, we have a nice firm bed of gravel/aggregate that is not supposed to wash out no matter what happens. We'll see. I should mention that Elvis is the best in our county and if he can't fix a driveway, it can't be done! Ours gets constant moisture seepage from the southern neighbor's woodland because it sits significantly higher than our land.

Diane,

I can't say that I blame you. We went out for lunch and parked maybe 20' from the door of the restaurant, and I still thought that was too cold to walk in the wind. LOL

I have to go out later and close up the chicken coops and bring the garage dogs in to sleep inside the house in their dog crates (which are eating up a lot of our floor space), but except for that, I'm staying inside.

You know what will happen? Y'all will finish the house and you'll get bored and move someplace else and start over. LOL

Jeana,

We have had more trouble with Garden Web in the last 6 months than I can remenber having in all the previous years combined. Sometimes the issue is that folks can't log on, and sometimes lately it is that some posts or even entire threads or pages of threads disappear.

I hope they can keep the system up and running. Of course, GW suffers most when their system acts up because if we can't log on, their advertisers likely are not happy that they're paying for ads no one is looking at. Thus, it is in their best interest to fix problems promptly in order to protect themselves from a loss in advertising revenue.

Dawn

I didn't have any problems logging in today, which is good because I think I'm addicted to coming here and reading all the post. I hope they fix what ever is going on, like you say Dawn it is in there best interest.