{"id":17444,"date":"2021-05-01T14:00:53","date_gmt":"2021-05-01T14:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/?p=17444"},"modified":"2021-05-03T13:48:20","modified_gmt":"2021-05-03T13:48:20","slug":"purdue-landscape-report-effects-of-recent-cold-temperatures-on-plants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/purdue-landscape-report-effects-of-recent-cold-temperatures-on-plants\/","title":{"rendered":"Purdue Landscape Report: Effects of Recent Cold Temperatures on Plants"},"content":{"rendered":"

Purdue Landscape Report<\/a>: The hard freeze April 20th & 21st had many homeowners concerned about their perennial and annual plants in their landscape.\u00a0 For the vast majority of perennial plants, there aren\u2019t many issues long-term of concern.\u00a0 Some foliage and flowers have significant damage, but the plants will recover, and possibly release new vegetative buds in severe cases.\u00a0 The plants that suffered the most damage, and in some cases death, are the annuals planted by impatient landscapers and gardeners.\u00a0 Planting annuals prior to the frost-free date (May 10th<\/sup>\u00a0in central Indiana) will more than likely cause a replant to occur.<\/p>\n

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\"figure1\"<\/a>

Figure 1. Cold temperatures and cold on April 21-22 caused stress on many plants that have broken buds.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

In addition to the potential stress from the temperatures, many trees received broken limbs due the combined weight of the leaves\/flowers and snow load.<\/p>\n

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\"figure2\"<\/a>

Figure 2. A Japanese Zelkova in full leaf with a heavy snow load.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

If you maintain a client\u2019s fruit trees (i.e. apples), there may be a significant impact on fruit production.\u00a0 The Purdue Meigs Horticultural Research Farm, located about eight miles south of the West Lafayette campus, recorded a low temperature of 22o<\/sup>\u00a0F on April 21st<\/sup>.\u00a0 Dr. Peter Hirst, pomologist, indicated that at the current stage of flowering a temperature of 25o<\/sup>\u00a0F might result in a 90% bud kill.\u00a0 Since there was a significant snowfall, the hope is that there was some moderation in temperatures.<\/p>\n

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\"figure3\"<\/a>

Figure 3. Apple flowers on April 22 in West Lafayette. Photo by Tristand Tucker.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"figure5\"<\/a>

Figure 5. Apple flowers on April 22 in West Lafayette. Photo by Tristand Tucker.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"figure4\"<\/a>

Figure 4. Apple flowers on April 22 in West Lafayette. Photo by Tristand Tucker.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Plants that have been stressed due to cold temperatures should be closely monitored over the growing season.\u00a0 Don\u2019t prune \u2018dead\u2019 portions until you allow more buds to break.\u00a0 Chances are the early foliage was dropped and new leaves will soon emerge.\u00a0 Be sure to provide adequate moisture to assist in recovery.\u00a0 Currently about half of the state is in the beginning stages of drought, so be sure to provide irrigation now if your area is dry.\u00a0 Always remember that too much water can be just as detrimental as too little water.<\/p>\n

The Indianapolis Star published an article on the extreme low temperatures<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Resources<\/strong>
\nPurdue Landscape Report<\/a>
\nTree Installation for the Landscape<\/a>, Video, Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources YouTube Channel
\nEffects of Cold Weather on Horticultural Plants in Indiana<\/a>, The Education Store, Purdue Extension resource center
\nWinterize Your Trees<\/a>, The Education Store
\nWhat do Trees Do in the Winter?<\/a> , Got Nature? Blog, Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources<\/p>\n

Kyle Daniel<\/a>, Nursery & Landscape Outreach Specialist
\nPurdue Horticulture and Landscape Architecture<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Purdue Landscape Report: The hard freeze April 20th & 21st had many homeowners concerned about their perennial and annual plants in their landscape.\u00a0 For the vast majority of perennial plants, there aren\u2019t many issues long-term of concern.\u00a0 Some foliage and flowers have significant damage, but the plants will recover, and possibly release new vegetative buds […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[42,45,49,53],"tags":[1412,67,1071,408,1069],"class_list":["post-17444","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-forestry","category-howto","category-plants","category-urbanforestry","tag-cold","tag-plants","tag-temperature","tag-trees","tag-weather","audience-for-enthusiasts","audience-for-homeowners","audience-for-landowners","audience-for-professionals"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17444","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/49"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17444"}],"version-history":[{"count":98,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17444\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17550,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17444\/revisions\/17550"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17444"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17444"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17444"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}