Winter certainly has its magic in the garden, but falling temperatures can cause frost damage to plants, with leaves and tender new growth being the first to be affected. How exactly does the damage happen? When there is constant frost, ice crystals form in the plant tissue, damaging the cells and causing the plants to wilt. The wilted growth turns brown or black and eventually becomes crispy. The affected parts of the plant die. What to do and what solutions are there? Read on!
Detecting frost damage to plants
Check your plants thoroughly after frost. You'll probably see the first signs of damage the day after the frost. The most exposed parts of the plant and those with the softest tissue are affected. What do the plants look like after a frost? Leaves, new shoots and buds become limp, dry, deformed and colored yellow, brown or black. Flowers wilt and shrink. Stronger strains are less at risk, but can occur with strong, long-lastingFrost can also damage it. It should be noted that at low relative humidity, plants can be damaged by freezing temperatures even without signs of frost.
How frost damages plants
It must be taken into account that not all plants are equally susceptible to frost. Tropical plants designed only for warm climates cannot survive frost. As a rule, well-established plants tolerate lower temperatures better than young, tender plants. For this reason, tender seedlings should only be planted in the garden after the last frost in spring.
The longer frost lasts, the higher the risk to the plants. Plants on south or west facing slopes are less susceptible to frost damage because they are protected during night frosts by the residual heat they receive during the day.
Is frost damage immediately noticeable? No! You can't spot all frost damage to plants right away, so waiting is the best thing you can do. What you shouldn't do is grab scissors and cut off the damaged parts of the plant. Why? Because the more you prune, the more energy the plant needs to heal those wounds instead of using it to regenerate. The sameapplies to fertilizing. Fertilizer causes the plant to develop new growth that is susceptible to cold damage.
Watering is the only thing that can help your plants recover, but be careful not to overwater. If frost damage occurs to plants that you have brought indoors for protection, you should immediately move them to their wintering location. If mainly leaves, flowers or buds are damaged, the dead parts will shrink on their own and you can remove them. Otherwise you shouldOverwinter the plant as usual.
If you have planted perennial plants, trees, and shrubs that are suitable for your hardiness zone, you don't need to worry about saving them. A lily's shrunken and yellowed foliage after a frost is part of its natural process of entering dormancy, and it will come back to life in the spring.
Prevention of frost damage
Of course, it's best to prevent frost damage before it occurs. As I said, avoiding late fertilization and pruning are important measures because new growth, whether triggered by fertilization or pruning, is particularly susceptible to frost damage.
Rememberthat you always plantselect ones that are suitable for your zone. Plants that are not hardy enough must be grown in containers and brought indoors before the first frost or moved to a warmer, sheltered location. Wait until all danger of frost has passed before putting your plants back outdoors!
You might also be interested in: “YUCCA PALM HAS FROST DAMAGE: HOW TO REVIVATE THE PLANT AND PROTECT IT FROM COLD IN WINTER?“
