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Cacti & Succulents House Plants garden

Is this Frost damage?

last year

I haven't changed anything except moving the plant to a draughty cold room (didn't think it would drop as low as -5 in London). Most of the greying looks to be towards the stem on those leaves affected, rather than the tips (one tip is a bit blackened).

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Comments (5)

George Welsh
Original Author
last year
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
last year
how long ago was the cold event??

i think it is cold damage ...

lets see other plants in the room with damage from the same event to compare ...

the length of time it takes.. to show the damage.. is usually indicative of how severe the damage is.. meaning.. if its showing in a few days.. its pretty bad ...

many .. if not most plants.. with no insult to the root mass ... presuming the pot didnt freeze .. can easily recover form cold events... but with very slow growing plants.. it will seem to take forever.. and might be worthwhile to just get rid of a common injured plant.. just so it doesnt bum you out every day looking at it ...it would be worth a couple pounds just to get it out of mind ...

ken
George Welsh thanked ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
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Squash plants look frost damaged, but we have not had a frost!!
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Comments (11)
Ok now I'm really getting confused. There are no indications of frost damage whatsoever in the photos. The plants are clearly anemic. But given the mixed info given there is no sure way to tell why. First, why in zone 5 are these tiny young plants already buried in deep mulch. Far too early as the ground hasn't sufficiently warmed up yet, especially for squash, and cool soil temps can cause nutrient uptake problems. Plus you need to pull the mulch back to a 4-6" circle around the plants until they are well established. All that high carbon mulch is further leaching nitrogen from the plants not to mention encouraging pests. Second, "garden soil enriched with well rotted compost, pure alfalfa pellets, dried chicken feathers and a little lime to counteract our alkaline soil" could easily be NOT "rich" soil since there are minimal if any nutrients in it for the plants. Decomposition takes time - lots of time - and is wholly dependent on soil bacteria activity and soil temps. Third, one should never play around with either lime or sulfa (BIG difference between the two) without absolute knowledge of their soil pH. Doing so only creates further nutrient problems. Fourth, define "well-watered" please. Unfortunately to many new gardeners that often means daily. Which is usually drowning them. IMO your plants need to be UN-mulched for a couple of weeks and fed some form of readily available nutrients and your soil needs to be professionally tested so you know what you are actually working with. Dave
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As long as the bags don't touch the foliage, it should be fine. You might even double the bags, to create a trapped air space. However, even when you feel you must protect plants (not just roses), plastic is the last thing you want to use in direct contact with tender growth. If it actually does frost, anywhere the plastic touches the foliage it WILL burn. Plastic can be used as a second cover, over the top of paper/burlap/cloth/cardboard box/large pot, but even then, I'm not sure it doesn't conduct more heat away from the plant than it insulates. If using it over cloth, it traps water vapor and condensation, which wets your cloth, losing any R value it might have had. IF you can lift the plastic away from direct contact with the plants, such as with your "rabbit circles", bamboo stakes, a chair, an umbrella, a box, pot (I've even used stacks of pots on either side of the plant), etc, then it can be safely used, since it is trapping a warmer air pocket. Or even use multiple layers, loosely draped with air between the layers. But never place a single sheet of plastic in direct contact with foliage in freezing weather. That's actually good advice for any covering, plastic or cloth. Bamboo stakes are your friend. Mad-gallica is right to a certain extent about damaging new growth with coverings. And roses are much tougher than we give them credit for. But if you're trying to save your first flush, it can be worth the effort. However, I will add the caveat that most rose buds will be fine down to 26 to 28F, as long as it isn't for several hours (as in four or more). Most of my roses are too large to cover, so I did agonize a bit about my teas and chinas in the last frost here. Many were loaded with buds. It only got down to 32F, but I don't think I lost a single bud, and more to the point, so far I haven't seen any cane damage. Covering plants is much more time- and cost-effective for annuals, and perennials that only produce one flush of growth, such as hostas. Even then, plastic isn't the first choice unless you can keep it from touching the plant. If you garden in an area prone to late frosts (just about anywhere colder than Z8, lol), then you need to invest in some rummage sale sheets and blankets (curtains work, too!). Ugly, but effective, lol. All that said, I won't try covering my roses this week, but I'll be schlepping my potted figs into the garage, and hauling out the blankets for my hostas, lol. John
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Comments (11)
Are you commenting about my reply? I'm sorry if it wasn't clear. The second part is to say that somebody might recognize your plants, no matter what condition they are in now. Knowing what plant(s) you have would enable others to provide specific feedback about that plant. There are many succulents that don't mind freezing temps, some that can survive from the roots but the existing growth will turn to mush in a hard frost, and some that would just be killed. I hope your plants end up OK. :)
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rina_Ontario,Canada 5a
last year
-5 C ia pretty cold. It would be even worse if plant was wet (potting medium...) It also depends on how long & what is the lowest temp for the plant. Google min temps for any plant you have been wondering about. If frost damage, hope the stem is not affected. I would be happier if tips were damaged...they would just dry up. BUT it is difficult to know from the photo.
George Welsh thanked rina_Ontario,Canada 5a
Marco
last year
I'm no expert, just an amateur who grows several kinds of these South African plants. Your appears to be either Aloe ferox or Aloe merlothii. In my garden here in the Sonoran Desert that straddles the US/Mexican border, my several aloes are planted in the ground, so I don't have the option of moving them indoors when temperatures drop below freezing. (Yes, we do get frosts several times each winter; and routine June days of 110). If winter dawn temperatures drop below 29 F (about -1.6 C), I cover my aloes with cloths raised on stakes so the fabric doesn't touch the leaves.

As with all succulents, if the plant is too plumped with water when frost comes, the plant is more vulnerable to damage as cells freeze and rupture. I water mine with a frequency based on temperatures, viz.: 90+ weekly; 80s alternate weeks; 70s every three weeks; 60 or below monthly or less.

These tidy and easy-to-remember Farenheit numbers translate to Celcius at about 32.2+ weekly; 26.6+ alternate weeks; 21+ every three weeks; 15.5 monthly or less.

If in doubt -- as when temperatures are variable, or there has been a lot of rain -- skip watering for a week.

Getting to your question: I think the small grey ovoid thumb-print-sized spots are likely frost damage, which may turn blackish as they rot. Be very restrained with watering, to minimize expansion of rot spots.

The bands of irregular green will probably even out. The tannish band across the base of that one leaf looks like it is preparing to die. Let it become brittle and rigid enough to snap off. From time to time, bend it gently; if it does not snap, leave it alone. If it will not snap off, do not cut if off, as that would expose living interior flesh to bacteria that will promote rot.

Keep an eye on the spots; if they stay the same size, even if they blacken, the rest of the leaf should be okay. Eventually the leaf will age out as new ones grow out from the center, and when the old leaf becomes russet and brittle you can snap it off.

In your photo, the soil looks both heavy and wet, and the pot plastic. If you can find a sack of cactus soil, re-pot the aloe in an unglazed terracotta pot, and raise the pot on clay feet or a bed of pebbles. Raising the pot allows the soil to drain rapidly when you water it, and the terracotta pot allows the soil to breath.

These two types of aloe grow in the African wild in open grasslands, which is to say they can take as much sun as you can give them (other aloes prefer bright dappled shade).

As another writer has suggested, you can always start with a new plant. If you pursue that, wait till weather warms a bit, and start out with the right soil and pot and watering schedule.

Good luck with this, as everyone benefits from a bit of green in their lives. And happy New Year.
George Welsh thanked Marco
floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
last year
The OP will be growing these indoors in London. -5 would have been the outside temperature and rain would not be an issue. However, we did have ice on the inside of a single glazed window in an unheated room once during that cold week, so very likely George’s plant did get very cold.
George Welsh thanked floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK

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