Anyone have any thoughts?

I too am in Ontario and will experience the same conditions this weekend. However this snow wont be helpful as it is predicted to be wet and then freeze with the sudden falling temps. It is dry snow that traps air providing insulation.

but let me put it to you this way ... the only plants that should be active.. are those that live in the temp interface we are dealing with ... and they should be able to handle it on there own ...

e.g. some of my spring bulbs are a bit taller than usual ... but they should be able to handle it.. since they bloom near the end of winter any way .. its not all that much out of the norm ..

whereas.. if a tulip is 2 months early ... and BLOOMING.. that flower isnt going to appreciate it all ... but i doubt it will have any impact on the greenery ...

in the millions of years of evolution of any given plant.. one mild winter.. is not going to kill them off ... but it may impact the show they give this summer .. buds might be killed ... but that should not make them terminal ...

if it makes you happy.. protect them.. but on my 5 acres.. there is nothing i can do.. but complain all summer about whatever happened ...

make sense??

and this all presumes no other variables .. like hyper-fertilization late in fall ... which might cause secondary problems ..

ken

If extreme cold snaps threaten, and something looks vulnerable, I generally try to find some light, fluffy oak leaves and toss them over it. That works.

The only thing I have that is really out of whack is my Helleborus orientalis. The dumb thing started blooming in November, and is now in full bloom. I've been covering it with a heavy cardboard box when the coldest nights have struck. So far so good.