I have far to many pots for all that..I threw a sheet over them all but thats about all i can do..the rest is just natures way of getting back at me for that 85 degrees yesterday

In my part of Texas we don't have to worry about freezing weather this late in the year (or usually not even after early March), but we will be down close to 40 tonight. What is the affect of cold and/or freezing weather on a hosta after it puts out spring leaves?

I put a blanket over Albomarginata and all the other pots, I put towels over and just put them as close together as I could. The ones that are emerged or unfurled are in my car. I noticed all over the neighborhood, there are sheets and towels over their pots, as well!

Yeah, had it blow through here last night; Stayed in the low 20's for several hours. Killed the unfurled leaves, of which there weren't very many.

Good luck!
Don B.

Forecast 34 degrees tonight, 29 for Wednesday and 31 for Thursday with daytime temps in the mid forties; tough time wriggling out of winter's grip here. Nothing has appeared above ground as far as hosta yet.
Jon

There are snowflakes in the air as I write this and that light snow should continue today and tonight. But since the winter snow cover just finished melting on sunday and the ground is still frozen, all hostas are properly dormant.

Last year in discussions of freeze damage I remarked that I did nothing and that hostas seemed hardy enough to avoid damage. But on reflection, maybe the reason I dont experience much freeze damage has more to do with the very late thawing of the ground and the release of hostas from dormancy. By the time leaves fully unfurl it is nid May or later and the danger of serious frost has passed.

Doug

i bothers me.. especially with our southern friends.. and not just in this forum ...

that peeps do NOT differentiate between the words FROST ... and FREEZE ...

the latter is much more damaging than the former ...

one causing a little superficial leaf damage ... they other.. with the potential of total collapse of the plant ...

so brandy.. how did it all work out??

ken

ps: a further e.g. .. the FL citrus crop ... then can deal with a little frost thru smudge pots [smoke] and or watering ... but there is nothing that will work.. when they get a freeze ...

No hosta growth showing here at all yet. But many shrubs are just leafing out which is a worry. 28 degrees over night on at least one night forecast.

It is snowing here now (Rochester NY) and we have a low of 21 in the forcast for tonight. Nothing but the poor little daffodils have leafed out, but I do have green pips poking through. Put my pots inside. Hope everything else is ok. This is the winter that never ends.

We have a freeze warning for tonight and possibly tomorrow night. A local garden center suggested non-LED lights plugged in under the sheets (being careful b/c it is potential fire hazard, of course). That would generate some heat under there, but would probably set me back a pretty penny.

Looks like I'll be running around tonight covering everything like a crazy person. Don't even know how much it will help with a freeze warning. Good grief...

This post was edited by funnthsun on Tue, Apr 15, 14 at 18:37

Ken, it was advertised as a freeze warning. I had a touch of frost on my back windshield this morning. But it did not snow or no freezing rain. The hostas are all fine. I kept them covered and in the car until about 10am. I have to cover them and put them back in the car tonight as it's supposed to be cold again. But then it should be OK. *Knocks on wood*

I had a touch of frost on my back windshield this morning.

==>>> i am not feeling it brandy... i woke up to 3 inches of snow.. lol ..

do understand.. i am not always talking to the poster.. but the the legions of newbies.. who never join the conversation ...

you acted.. accordingly ... i know you knew the difference.. i wanted to point it out to warmer zone peeps.. who might not be understanding about the difference in the two words ...

prairie... most shrubs.. as bulletproof as they are.. can lose all their leaves.. and bounce right back .. or like last year for me.. all the lilacs lost their flower buds... and they all came back fine... so.. i missed some flowers.. and many of the fruit growers around... lost a crop ... but not much direct death ... so its a concern.. but not a worry.. if you get my drift ...

one year.. i actually lost some hosta.. that got froze.. after leafing a bit.. recovered.. froze again ... and perhaps a third time... they only have so much stored energy to releaf on ... but they were probably sickly plants in the first place... and all of them took a year or two to recover..

but nothing like that with some frost damage ...

ken

It rained...then it turned to snow..and I ended up with maybe 1/2 inch when it was done. no frost or anything like that just hostas covered in wet sheets. I did notice the acers tiny leaves were falling off this morning though Its ended up right around 32F..tonight will be a bit colder and I will be on the watch for the frost or freeze depending on how cold it gets. Should be in the clear after that, at least I hope my hallson order is on the way!

It's in the 50s now. No rain. It's sunny. The hostas are happy and perky. I am worried about Albomarginata, I think her bottom leaves will have evidence of frost/freeze damage. I can already see it but I am hoping she still looks spectacular anyway. It's supposed to be in the upper 20's/lower 30's tonight so it'll be done again. *Sigh*

I did notice that the little greenhouse is all closed up and not open today, probably due to cold weather. I imagine it must take a lot of work to cover all the plants and then uncover them only for a couple of hours.

The temp is dropping like a rock here in the Baltimore area. Rainy all day, then tonight the rain will taper off but the cold will set in...low around 27F. Liberty and Paradise Island are just barely starting to show leaf tissue, all the others are keeping their heads down.

I spread a blanket then a tarp over two of my perennial beds, mostly to protect the astilbe and dicentra that are both up and at 'em. We'll see how they come through!

...then there's the rhubarb well leafed out, the lilac covered in new leaves and buds, the broadleaf shrubs with tender growth...ah, well, as long as the hosta are ok, I'm okay!

I covered 60+ hostas tonight. Last night I picked black plastic pots that would fit over each hosta and left it near it. I figured it would be quick to cover each pot with a cloth of some sort. It took two hours. While I was doing it I thought that an easier way would be to take two pots, put a piece of newspaper between them, then stack the whole ensemble. It could be stored that way someplace dry until needed. I'm still working out how to deal with a situation like today, rain followed by plunging temperatures.
Kathy

So, ken, what is the difference between frost and freeze? This New Orleans girl doesn't really know.
Kathy

Kathy, what I did when my hostas were just coming up is upend a black plastic pot over them and stake them down with those little L-shaped metal rods that you fix chain-link fence with (they look and work like mini stakes). You can get a pack of 30 of those for a couple of bucks at Lowe's. As long as the pot has a lip on them, they work great to hold the pot in place in case of winds and they go in the ground pretty easily. I then came back through and Xed masking tape over the holes on the tops (or bottoms!) of the pots. That worked great for me a few weeks ago, but now the hostas are too big for those pots, so I just had to cover with a sheet this time and hope.

Oooh I finally got scared enough to run out and put some buckets over my recently planted toad lilies and my hosta whose pips are just starting to show signs of the leaves opening. It was snowing big flakes on me! I hope the few things I didn't have buckets for make it through.

I used to live in upstate NY which always announced on the weather forecast when there would be frosts or freezes but here in the city they never do that and I always forget about the risk. Fingers crossed I didn't wait too long.