Skip to main content

How low can temps go before young plants show frost damage?

Subhead
Know and grow it
Lead Summary
By
George Bonnema

 
Last week had me wondering just how much cold the tender new growth of perennials, shrubs, and trees could actually tolerate … nature never fails to amaze me. At 25 degrees for a low, I saw very little damage to anything, including my blooming daffodils. I’m hoping that was the last of that kind of cold we will see for many months!
Speaking of daffodils, their display lasted for more than two weeks this year. That is impressive. Spring-blooming bulbs develop their flower buds in the bulb for the next year immediately after they finish flowering. 
If you need to thin or move the bulbs, do not dig them until the foliage turns yellow. At that point, either dig the bulbs or label their location because once the foliage is gone, they can be pretty hard to find.  You can replant the bulbs immediately or store them in your basement until fall … just don’t forget to get them back into the ground!
Right now is the time to apply pre-emergence crab grass control. Now is also a good time to use weed spray to control creeping charlie and other broadleaf weeds in your lawn. I like to eliminate dandelions before they bloom to prevent that crop of seeds.
If you have summer-blooming bulbs to plant, it is safe to get those planted now. By the time they emerge, we should be past our last frost date. 
I hope you are enjoying the exuberance of this time of year … we wait so long and it passes so quickly!
 

You must log in to continue reading. Log in or subscribe today.