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whaas_5a

Retreat, Retreat, Retreat!

whaas_5a
10 years ago

Spruce, Ginkgo and Oak have just began to break bud.

Close to record low set to hit tonight. I don't have a means to cover everything so just crossing my fingers that the clouds and winds stay steady to somewhat avoid freeze damage.

Happy Mother's Day to all the caring mothers out there.

Comments (29)

  • cearbhaill (zone 6b Eastern Kentucky)
    10 years ago

    I am getting down to an estimated 36 degrees or so and although I brought all the tropicals in I have covered nothing but one new alocasia.
    If I covered everything that could maybe be hurt it would never end and it would be Sophie's Choice where to start and where to stop.
    It's tough love around here tonight.
    I too am hoping the cloud cover sticks around.
    I told the husband to wake me up when he gets up at 3am if it is below 35 by then and I might go around with a hose from about 5 til the sun comes out.

    You are likely getting far colder and plants getting a later start but I understand how you can't guard against every single thing that might go wrong.
    It's part of being a gardener.

    Good luck!

  • arktrees
    10 years ago

    Feel your pain, Happen to my yard almost every year. It has become a trail and error as to what can tolerate it. Our Ginkgo has been bitten every year but one. FWIW, it has been my experience that most of our planting are OK to about 28-29 degrees, then then the damage begins to set in, and it's a species by species from there.

    Arktrees

  • hortster
    10 years ago

    Stand out there with a long extension cord and a blow dryer all night, running from plant to plant!
    Seriously, whaas, if the buds are JUST breaking you probably don't need to worry unless we are talking lower than 27ð for two or three hours. If we are, get out the blow dryer...
    hortster

  • whaas_5a
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    I'm putting up the white flag.

    27 degrees for tonight, which will be a record.

    Frost is supposed to develop at midnight and last through the morning.

    I'm going to cover a couple small maples.

    See ya in the morning. Either I'm going to be saying thanks or cursing mother nature.

  • wisconsitom
    10 years ago

    For guys that live in the part of the world where whaas and myself do, I'm having a hard time believing that this frost is anything out of the ordinary whatsoever. We never are frost-free quite yet. I swear the weather/news outlets continue down the silly road of over-hyping every d*mn little weather occurrence that takes place!

    +oM

    PS....the 1500 hybrid larch I planted last weekend surprised me; They came all boxed up in their trays and when I cut the boxes open, the trees were all greening out, albeit in a whitish shade of green from spending a couple days in the dark. I am a bit concerned about those. Sure, larch or most any tree can regenerate new foliage, but these are at a low ebb, energy-wise. Still, not a single thing can I do about it. Should be able to get up there and have a look-see next weekend.

  • cyn427 (z. 7, N. VA)
    10 years ago

    Oh no! I hope it doesn't end up getting that low! No fun.

  • mad_gallica (z5 Eastern NY)
    10 years ago

    We are all going to die.

    Seriously, this is what really killed the dinosaurs - freezing temperatures in May.

    Aside from that, I'm with +oM. It isn't anything we haven't seen before, and life would be much better with less hype.

  • whaas_5a
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Horster, my point on the Ginkgo, Oak and Spruce is that everything is far along. All maples are already leafed out, Katsura, Redwood, Tulip Tree, Viburnum, Dogwood, the list continues. I'm most worried about all my Japanese Maples. I lost several last year.

    Yes, frost warnings are overrated. But a temperature forecast in the 20s is not for this time of year. Hard freezes are UNCOMMON this time of year. Check the stats there is less than a 5% chance of the temperature ever reaching that low. Oh, did I mention this could break a 100 plus year record?

    Tom, good luck on the larch. I lost most of my dwarf larch last year from the freezes. Besides the maples, I covered my larch tonight. The vigor should be much stronger with your hybrids though.

  • whaas_5a
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Unofficially broke the 1971 27 degree low.
    This was as of 5:30 CST.

    No hype, just damage. Very heavy frost.

    {{gwi:359692}}

  • arktrees
    10 years ago

    That pretty much sucks.

    Arktrees

  • maries1120
    10 years ago

    I agree this weather sucks. Almost the middle of May and waking up to temps in the 20s. Not that I want a repeat of last summer's heat but some normal temps would be great. I took the shovel out of my trunk. Maybe I am to blame!

    whaas - hope everything makes it. We have one tree waiting to be planted that we picked up yesterday. Also some annuals and a few perennials but moved those into the garage.

  • arktrees
    10 years ago

    Blurry picture taken with my phone while driving. However notice the snow on the Azalea's. This was May 3 of this year. First snow of any sort ever recorded in the month of May anywhere in Arkansas.

    I feel your pain.

    Arktrees

  • bengz6westmd
    10 years ago

    Everything was set up here for a damaging frost, but somehow didn't happen -- 34F. Prb'ly some wind continued during the night to stir things up.

    Tomorrow morning may still get me.

  • calliope
    10 years ago

    We're a lot more southerly than Wisconsin and a twenties freeze in May is certainly not unheard of. I would have supposed it would be fairly common. It is here. We dodged the bullet last night with no frost even though a freeze was predicted. My poor trees must fend for themselves. Any effort I put into preventing frost or freeze damage is priority for food crops. I spent yesterday evening freezing my butt off hilling spuds (should've done that last week), and hot capping what stuck out and then covering the budding grapes and head lettuce.

    I also agree with the statement that weather events are so sensational anymore. I can handle just the statistics, please without the dramatics. It is crying wolf so often.

  • whaas_5a
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    We're a lot more southerly than Wisconsin and a twenties freeze in May is certainly not unheard of. I would have supposed it would be fairly common. It is here.

    Not here due to proximity of the lake. I have to go back to May 10th, 1966 to beat the record low last night (within close proximity timewise). Although there isn't a large lapse in time the first week of May can be more volatile.

    The lowest temperature for ANY day in May was May 1st, 1978 @ 20 degrees.

    All, thanks for the feedback. Interesting to see who else got that dip last night (or tonight).

  • joeinmo 6b-7a
    10 years ago

    In SW Missouri, 20 min north of Ark border we had same problem as Arktrees had (snow May 3) a record for latest snowfall in SW Missouri.

    However, we were lucky, the snow was from cold air aloft, the temperatures 50ft above ground to the grass remained above freezing, so none of our plants froze or were damaged. I already had tomatoes planted, peaches and apricots growing, flowers everything. With the exception of the newest growth on 1 Texas Live Oak, everything was fine.

    I had the propane porch heaters out on the deck where our humming birds and Orioles kept warm. We occasionally heated up the nectar in the mornings and just at sunset - they all made it.

  • calliope
    10 years ago

    OK, makes sense regarding lakes. I wasn't doubting it.......records are records. It just surprised me. We get a lot of extremes here, but usually not as much as the glaciated majority of the state.

  • jqpublic
    10 years ago

    So how did the respective trees make out?

  • bengz6westmd
    10 years ago

    No wind last night, so a serious morning frost (26F). Really don't want to look yet -- nothing I can do. Sugar maples w/fairly large leaves are badly wilted, but they typically incur no damage. Not so w/some other hardwoods. Conifers (even deciduous ones) never seem significantly damaged.

    And yeah, joeinmo, I'm concerned about my resident hummingbirds -- they have to go into a kind of stupor during cold weather.

  • bengz6westmd
    10 years ago

    OK, I looked. Pretty bad.

    Partly to completely fried:
    Oaks -- pin, swamp white, chestnut, shumard & white
    Sourwood
    Crape myrtle
    Kentucky coffee tree
    Osage orange
    Hybrid chestnut
    Catalpa
    Ginkgo
    Redbud
    Amer sycamore

    Good resistance:
    Honeylocust
    Tuliptree
    Pond cypress
    Katsura tree
    Black walnut

    Resistant:
    Sugar & silver maple
    Chinese elm
    Larch, dawn redwood, bald cypress
    Willows (of course)
    Black cherry
    Birch
    Evergreen conifers
    Hazelnut
    Red-osier & pagoda dogwood
    Every weed on my lot

    No damage due to late emergence:
    Southern magnolia
    Shellbark, bitternut & shagbark hickory
    Umbrella magnolia
    Fringe tree

    This post was edited by beng on Tue, May 14, 13 at 11:05

  • joeinmo 6b-7a
    10 years ago

    Beng,

    How are your hummingbirds?

  • bengz6westmd
    10 years ago

    Joe, I didn't see any yesterday. Troubling, but they may just be hunkered down.

    We'll see.

  • whaas_5a
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Interesting...

    Most damage was on maples and katsura here. Otherwise not too bad considering. I was shocked that the hydrangea aren't toast. The leaves where litterally soilid and I thought that growth would turn to mush but apparently not.

  • bengz6westmd
    10 years ago

    Joe, hummingbirds came back & are fine -- fighting amongst themselves as usual.

  • calliope
    10 years ago

    Hummers can take a lot more cold than people give them credit for. We survived the frosts completely unscathed here. It was to be a true freeze, but the temps stayed a couple of degrees higher than forecast and the wind was moving. Many years we lose the first flush on a catalpa, but it always throws out a second.

  • KevinJenkins
    10 years ago

    My goodness! Had no idea how cold it could get in the world. In Leicester UK the weather has been holding up, just very, very wet, I feel for you guys and hope that not too much has been damaged.

  • j0nd03
    10 years ago

    Our hummingbirds completely disappeared shortly after our last freeze in the upper 20's but I think they do that every year around this time. It may be mating season for all I know. I did notice the males guarding the feeders had let 1 or two females eat with them on the feeder before they disappeared.

    John

  • bengz6westmd
    10 years ago

    John, some of them may have been there as a stop-over, moving north. I always get a couple "extra" late in the season as they're moving south.

  • wisconsitom
    10 years ago

    Well now, these two weeks later, what I need up there is rain! Had a nice all-day half-incher or so here but 60 miles north, it petered out to nothing. So there's 6000 baby trees that have had only one little rain since being planted, and now some actual warmth to help dry things out. Dern it, can't win with weather.

    Looked very briefly at my seedlings yesterday. Was up there for other purposes and had to hurry. Now with the pine and spruce, there is of course no apparent foliar damage from that cold night back when this thread started. Some of the larch-sure enough they look toasted. But a whole bunch more look okay, albeit dry like the rest. Funny thing is, it's the ones at the top of the slope that look like they got frost damaged whereas the ones down yonder on the low end of that slope look good.

    But the main point of all this? These trees are on their own! Whatever happens happens at this point.

    +oM

    PS....it's not really dry up there-the forest is as moist as can be. But these seedlings were planted up in an open field and hence much more subject to drying out. Rain is forecast to become widespread by tomorrow night/Monday. Sure hope so!