Late Very cold weather incoming be aware!

Most of my stuff is still dormant and hopefully wont get too bad here in TN. Hopefully my trees will stay asleep, ride this thing out, and start waking up in Spring round 2 or round 3 haha.
 
Yup, I've been watching the forecast diligently lately and temps are plummeting heading in to the middle of next week. Meanwhile buds are pushing all over here, local tigerlily and bulbs are all pushing out leaves.

I was checking out things in my yard earlier today and noticed that one of my Azalea has all kinds of new growth.
LMWCapture.PNG
 
Yes, been watching that too. We’re in the low 60s all week then wham back down into the 30s for highs next week. So right now a lot of my tridents, koream hornbeams, larch, Chinese quince, and Jap maple seedlings are enjoying the warm weather outside. I also noticed some candles on my Austrian pine are starting to swell and extend a little and there is a nice new white root sticking its nead out one of the holes in the bottom of the pot so I have to repot it tomorrow then move it into the garage for the cold spell next week. Fortunately all the rest of the plants outside are still holding off but with this string of warm days I an expecting others to join the parade. I may finally have to invest in a small greenhouse if this winter pattern becomes the norm.
 
I’ll probably move stuff back into the garage. Depends on how low it gets
 
I’m thinking about piling them all into the back of the pickup and just driving it in and out of the garage every day. Sure would save my aching back!
Anything on wheels is a good idea… For what it’s worth, if I put something in the garage it’s going to stay there until the cold weather abates... A few days without light will be fine
 
Dav warned us this would happen but in Georgia this is pretty typical. I used to have a tulip magnolia in the yard that would be covered in blooms about this time of year. The vast majority of the years they would be ruined by a hard freeze while they were at the height of their beauty.
 
I am not too concerned. Having been in the nursery business for 50 years I have grown to expect it. Some will definitely go in the basement and some will be covered with multiple layers of frost blanket and straw if necessary. Most of what I have is still dormant.
 
Just another normal year in Georgia. Low of 60s one week followed by lows of 20s the next.
It's normal for us to get all four seasons inside of a couple of days.

I like it around here, it keeps us guessing.
...and it get's us to clean up the garage every year...:p
 
This is almost exactly what happened last winter. Warm Feb. followed by a plunge in March. It cost me a couple of trees --even though they were "dormant" and under their typical winter protection. Bald cypress were particularly hard hit.

I've got maples pushing hard this week. Have already had to repot one. It's supposed to be above freezing for the next five days or so. That ain't good... I'm planning on bringing a lot of stuff inside for a few days next week.
 
This is almost exactly what happened last winter. Warm Feb. followed by a plunge in March. It cost me a couple of trees --even though they were "dormant" and under their typical winter protection. Bald cypress were particularly hard hit.

I've got maples pushing hard this week. Have already had to repot one. It's supposed to be above freezing for the next five days or so. That ain't good... I'm planning on bringing a lot of stuff inside for a few days next week.
Yeah, last year I assumed some of my very cold hardy trees, that were just breaking dormancy... barely in fact..., could handle the cold in March... I was wrong. Anything that's growing, excluding my big RMJs and other junis that haven't been worked on recently, is either going on the ground next to my house or into the garage where they will stay until the cold goes back up north where it belongs. I've been re-potting hard for 2 weeks now...
 
I'm going to keep a close eye on my trees, most of which are in my garage. Hoping it stays cool in there....so far everything is still asleep here.
 
Yeah, last year I assumed some of my very cold hardy trees, that were just breaking dormancy... barely in fact..., could handle the cold in March... I was wrong. Anything that's growing, excluding my big RMJs and other junis that haven't been worked on recently, is either going on the ground next to my house or into the garage where they will stay until the cold goes back up north where it belongs. I've been re-potting hard for 2 weeks now...
How cold did it get...my experience has been that most hardy trees can handle brief periods of temps just below freezing, down to 30 or 29 (maybe 28), once they start leafing out without much if any damage. It is easy though to get caught off guard if you decide to chance it and the temp drops down to the mid or lower 20s.
 
How cold did it get...my experience has been that most hardy trees can handle brief periods of temps just below freezing, down to 30 or 29 (maybe 28), once they start leafing out without much if any damage. It is easy though to get caught off guard if you decide to chance it and the temp drops down to the mid or lower 20s.
I honestly don't remember... probably mid to upper twenties for lows at night with daytime highs in the 30's for a few days. My chojubais took a beating and I lost a Goji berry... both are very cold hardy but also tend to wake up very early. Anyway, I won't be letting the quince freeze this time around.
 
  • Like
Reactions: coh
Back
Top Bottom