Home & Garden Tips
Cold snap hard on Georgia landscape
By Roosevelt McWilliams County Extension Agent

Weeks of unseasonably warm weather in Georgia followed by weeks of near and below freezing temperatures could be a deadly combination for early spring blooms in the landscape.

Most fruit and nut flower buds can tolerate temperatures slightly below freezing. Ice can work as an insulator for buds. As long as it is raining, the heat given off by water freezing actually protects flower buds to a certain point, much like irrigation of the crops would do.

Too many hours of hard freeze can spell doom for spring blooms, although it's very hard to tell at this point what damage will be done.

The worst freezes come on cold, windy nights when a front is moving in and temperatures drop rapidly. Some woody ornamentals like azaleas may survive the freeze. Azaleas are not as far along as most fruit crops and in a dormant stage they are fairly cold tolerant.

There isn't much homeowners can do to protect fragile plants, which is why it is so important to use landscape plants that match the hardiness zone we live in. Landscape plants hardy for this area have a great capacity to make it through freezes and frost. Typically it is only those actually blooming at the time of the freeze or frost that suffers.

Mulching material like pine straw layered 2 to 4 inches thick can be effective to keep ice off tender buds and pansy blooms, but should be pushed back when temperatures rise to allow the soil to warm up.

It's kind of hard for homeowners to do anything about freezing plants. Covering plants with fabric only provides a few degrees of protection, and then only if well covered.

Plastic works well for a few degrees but must be removed before the sun comes out and bakes the plants underneath.

Most plants can endure frost better than freezes. Frost occurs on a clear night as heat radiates from surfaces to the sky. When the temperature drops below 32 degrees, water vapor freezes on surfaces like blades of grass, flower blooms and your car windshield.

Freezing, on the other hand, usually accompanies a cold front moving in with freezing temperatures, wind and sometimes rain.

For advice on a list of the best plants for your hardiness zone, contact the Burke County Extension Office.