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bosewichte

hardy annuals and SNOW/sleet/freeze?

bosewichte
2 years ago

I'm in zone 5a/6b. I started lots of cold-hardy annuals indoors this spring (snapdragons, stock, sweet peas, forget-me-not, bachelor buttons, poppies, etc., etc.) and have been slowly getting them into the ground. We sometimes have dreadfully hot Junes and even Mays, and my understanding was that these plants can take a frost or two and much prefer cooler weather to set up roots for early summer bloom.


We've had a lovely April, plenty of rain, moderate temps ranging from upper 50s to 70s during the day and mostly 40s at night. Seedlings are doing well.


Between today's 70 degree forecast and the 70 degree forecast of the weekend, we have one night with an inch of rain/snow forecasted, with temps dropping down to 27 degrees overnight.


Normally I would double-cover my seedlings with frost cloth and bed sheets, but since it's supposed to rain all afternoon, everything will get drenched, then freeze. It seems pointless to cover, since the wet sheets will offer no protection.


Is there ANYTHING I can do to protect my seedlings? I've probably got 500+ seedlings in the ground and I feel sick at the possibility of losing them!


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