RE: CULT: weather

Only 27 Fri night, which usually only hurts things showing color here, but bottomed out at 22oF here early this AM. Not a record low.
I dragged some potted things indoors (cold kitchen and sun room floor are full) & put triple layers of Reemay over a couple of the seedling rows. Dug a few seedlings with stalks to bring indoors. Cut the few stalks with color showing. Hoping the drought Jan thru Mar slowed growth enough that at least some of the uncovered tougher ML & L blooming TBs will come thru. Only the earliest TBs had stalks up, the usual ones to be damaged here. This may be one of those years we all especially appreciate DUSKY CHALLENGER's late bloom and tough foliage.
Not sure tho - past experience has been that freezes below about 25oF within a month of bloom (even when stalks aren't showing) is damaged if not destroyed.
Those of you with snow cover will probably be ok, if stalks weren't up above the snow. Snow is wonderful insulation from temperatures below freezing.
This kind of weather is why I started pollen daubing - EM to M main season bloom used to be frozen out here every year. Last three springs were so mild, I had phenomenal bloom. Not likely this year!
Biggest concern after all the freeze damage will be massive rot outbreak in damaged plants. They are wide open for infection plus have reduced resources for repair.
Heard on the news that we had over 4 inches of snow here the last week in April in 1910. Ugh! 
--
Linda Mann east Tennessee USA zone 7/8
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