Yikes, Weatherman says Freeze and Frost Warning Tonight and Tomorrow Night!
When we hear frost and freeze in May we get real concerned in a hurry and so should you! Let me show and tell you what we do.
First Kathy took a picture in side our shed and you can see what we did with the plants most susceptible to freezing and frost. These our plants that are very green from recent growth spurts and could have severe damage possibly even killing it. Should be okay indoors. If you have plants in pots waiting to be planted, to be safe you can put them in your garage or shed. As you can see, she took a picture of our trailer which is full of plants and covered with a tarp. Should be okay. Our main purpose in placing them in the shed and trailer is to avoid damage to new emerging buds, leaves, and flowers. We moved well over a thousand into our shed and trailer.
With temperatures predicted below freezing along with wind we also decided to use Frost Protection Cloth over a good portion of our plants including young plants just in a growth spurt. Note: you do not have to be concerned about things like arborvitae which seem to handle cold very well. Kathy took pictures of our Frost Cover that covers plants shown here. If you have some plants you feel should be covered you can use anything from sheets, towels, etc. as long as it is breathable.
Many shrubs and perennials will grow out even if they have some frost damage. We cover ours so we have nice plants to sell you next week that you can enjoy.
So when in doubt, if you have new plants you bought that were in a greenhouse, either move them into your garage or shed or if you planted them, cover them now! It doesn’t take long, I spent all day (with several helpers) moving and covering plants and got rather wet and stayed that way all afternoon. You will probably only need to be out a couple of minutes to cover a few plants. Get that rain jacket on and get outside now and get it done. You will be glad you did.
Here at Longview Nursery we will be open next week Tuesday through Friday at 9 a.m. and close at 5 p.m. Saturdays we are open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you for us closing today May 8th and Saturday May 9th. It’s a big job for us getting ready for freezing and frost as you can see!
Happy Mother’s Day to all you mothers out there and enjoy your day!
Tom & Kathy