KY Ornamentals April 2007 Freeze Damage

The damage is extensive, we are watching and waiting to see if the damage will be limited to flowers (and ultimately ornamental fruit loss), leaves, and new tender stem growth or will there be bark damage and how extensive will it be. A fear is that the damage will include that typically seen in severe cold temperature drops that catch plants unprepared for winter in the fall: bark splitting resulting in trunk girdling and the whole plant dying or dying to the ground. Dr. John Hartman observed ice ribbons forming at numerous freeze cracks on crapemyrtle stems in the UK Arboretum. A phenomenon previously reported that would result in death of those plants. We believe this type of freeze damage happened last fall; see Bill Fountains first article. Woody ornamental plants frequently surprise us with their resiliency making for an optimistic outlook Plants of known marginal hardiness, crapemyrtles and some of the magnolias, may be more likely to be damaged, but it has been noted in the landscape at the UKREC that even minor differences in cultivars of species normally considered to be hardy azaleas, lilac, and viburnums resulted in some having severe foliage damage and others not having the water soaked appearance typical of those that suffered complete cell death leading to the water of the cells being released. Even native hickories, oaks, maples, sycamores, tulip trees, sweetgums and others have severely damaged foliage. I have not observed anything like this in my 29 years in west Kentucky. Win Dunwell

Tom Priddy - Weather Information

Historic Cold and Snow April 6-8, 2007

SNA UPDATES
April 26, 2007 - Disaster Assistance for Nursery Growers due to Spring Freeze Damage

Other SNA Updates
http://www.sna.org/publications/index.shtml

Mark Halcomb - Nursery Information

Frost Protection- A sad story 04Apr2007

Nursery Notes: Spring Growth Murdered 11Apr2007

Nursery Notes: Be Patient and Wait 18Apr2007

Nursery Notes: Freeze Update 16May2007

Nursery Notes: More Freeze Update 23May2007

Bill Fountain - Landscape Plants

Cold Damage to Woody Ornamentals and What to expect

Results of Freeze Damage to Woody Ornamentals