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Cold Snaps and Garden Comebacks
92 Plays14 days ago
In this episode of Hort Culture, we dive into the challenges of late spring frosts and freezes. We talk about how to tell if a freeze has hit, why it’s important to cover vulnerable plants (and why plastic is not your friend), and the best materials to use for protection. We also share why it’s so important to wait before reacting to frost damage, giving plants time to show how they've been affected. You'll hear us describe signs like "melted" herbaceous plants, "bud blast" in peonies, and frost rings on apples. We get into how different plant stages—like swollen buds and early color—can mean different levels of vulnerability, especially for fruit trees. Outside of the garden, we also share some of our favorite non-plant springtime activities, from watching basketball tournaments to grilling and fishing. For more on frost protection, we point you back to Season 2, Episode 13 and resources from the Center for Crop Diversification.
How to Protect Plants from Frost and Freeze
Protect landscape plants, vegetable seedlings from frost
Protecting From Spring Freezes
Questions/Comments/Feedback/Suggestions for Topics: hortculturepodcast@l.uky.edu
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Transcript
Weather and Atmosphere
00:00:17
Alexis
Hello friends, how is everybody feeling today?
00:00:19
Plant People
Howdy doody. Good.
00:00:20
Jessica
Oh, good.
00:00:21
Plant People
Sun shining, at least during the recording.
00:00:22
Alexis
Sans, uh, when this is being recording recorded, this is Sans Two Nights of Freeze, uh, so hopefully everybody covered what was important to them,
00:00:23
Brett
I feel felt pretty good.
00:00:29
Jessica
Mm-hmm.
00:00:34
Plant People
We're lucky.
00:00:34
Alexis
ah
00:00:35
Jessica
Yes.
00:00:35
Plant People
I mean, it's not a late season free without without freezing.
00:00:36
Brett
What did you say? It's Sands?
00:00:38
Alexis
Like sans, like post, post, isn't that, can't you also use sans?
00:00:40
Brett
Oh, okay. Got it.
00:00:41
Jessica
Oh.
00:00:41
Brett
Got it. Got it.
00:00:43
Alexis
Probably not, whatever. i studied plants.
00:00:45
Brett
No, I just mean i didn't. yeah i Yeah.
00:00:47
Jessica
I...
00:00:47
Brett
We just came off of two nights of
00:00:50
Plant People
but But
Playful Tension and Togetherness
00:00:51
Plant People
it's still early.
00:00:51
Jessica
It was cold last two nights.
00:00:52
Plant People
We're recording this.
00:00:52
Brett
for so For some reason, Alexis and I seem on the verge of fighting today, even though we're not really.
00:00:53
Plant People
Yeah.
00:00:57
Jessica
Something's going on
00:00:58
Brett
I really like it.
00:00:59
Plant People
I'm here for this kind of energy.
00:00:59
Alexis
what
00:01:00
Brett
I really like it.
00:01:00
Plant People
Yeah.
00:01:01
Alexis
i I think that we're just ah too comfortable and we've spent many a day together lately in meetings.
00:01:01
Plant People
I like it. Edgy.
00:01:05
Plant People
Okay.
00:01:06
Jessica
it's It's like when you...
00:01:07
Plant People
Well, it's springtime.
00:01:07
Brett
mean, we're both, maybe both feeling a little prickly today.
00:01:10
Plant People
It's springtime.
00:01:10
Alexis
It's the cold.
00:01:10
Jessica
When you...
00:01:10
Plant People
We're on edge. It's okay. We're on edge. It's springtime.
00:01:14
Alexis
It makes me edgy.
00:01:14
Jessica
It's like when you text somebody something and like it autocorrects and you're like, oh, I didn't mean that.
00:01:14
Plant People
You know.
00:01:18
Jessica
and then the person like already responds back. You're like, oh, although that's not good. And you're like, no, I know that's not good. And you go back and forth and you're just like, I'm not trying to fight.
00:01:25
Brett
I'm not mad.
00:01:26
Jessica
Like I'm in agreement with you.
00:01:26
Brett
You're mad.
00:01:28
Jessica
And yeah, you guys are in an agreement, but it's one of those days.
00:01:29
Brett
it's It's one of those things that I've only ever experienced.
00:01:30
Plant People
Let's agree to agree.
00:01:32
Brett
I've only ever experienced this with people that I really care about. And so I'm leaning into it.
00:01:37
Jessica
yeah.
00:01:38
Plant People
ah Lean into
Favorite Spring Activities
00:01:40
Plant People
it. I like it. I have a question. Speaking of leaning into it, and this is going to be a challenge for you guys. Unless somebody else has a burning intro question, which you guys are so good at. You always nail that.
00:01:51
Brett
Oh,
00:01:51
Plant People
But what's your guys' favorite springtime activity that does not involve plants? Because I don't want to hear about that. That does not involve plants.
00:01:57
Brett
Ray, what the heck?
00:01:58
Alexis
I have no other interests.
00:01:58
Plant People
I know, Brett, that's a killer.
00:02:00
Jessica
uh i don't know kind of spring kind of spring yes um i enjoy basketball and the basketball tournament
00:02:02
Plant People
ah Your whole identity is not plants.
00:02:04
Alexis
oh
00:02:06
Plant People
Okay, go. I'm a here for it.
00:02:10
Plant People
Who? Yes.
00:02:11
Brett
Oh, yeah.
00:02:11
Jessica
Like, love it.
00:02:11
Plant People
March. The madness that is March.
00:02:12
Jessica
Love, love the madness. Love it.
00:02:15
Plant People
Yes.
00:02:16
Jessica
Bracket busted very quickly.
00:02:16
Plant People
Yes. I love that.
00:02:18
Jessica
um
00:02:19
Brett
Yeah, I don't know why, but I was ah little caught off guard by how much you love, and you're talking about mainly college basketball, right?
00:02:21
Jessica
Love it.
00:02:25
Jessica
Basketball? Yes, I love basketball.
00:02:28
Brett
UK college basketball.
00:02:29
Plant People
Jessica and I wanted to remain friends so we've never played each other one-on-one in basketball because I already know she probably it's a she sets a mean pick.
00:02:29
Jessica
Yes.
00:02:33
Jessica
Yes. We talk about it all the time.
00:02:37
Plant People
So, yeah, and i but I'm aggressive at basketball, and i love to play.
00:02:37
Jessica
we throw... love
00:02:41
Plant People
I love to watch it. Yes.
00:02:43
Jessica
I love college basketball, college football, and I like NFL football.
00:02:43
Brett
A couple of years ago.
00:02:44
Plant People
Good one. Good one. Yeah. It's important.
00:02:48
Brett
Yeah, but you're not an NBA fan.
00:02:50
Jessica
ah You know they just kind of like flop around
00:02:52
Alexis
Who is...
00:02:52
Plant People
College basketball is getting real close to the NBA, you know.
00:02:55
Brett
I love the NBA.
00:02:56
Plant People
You do?
00:02:57
Brett
Yes.
00:02:57
Plant People
No kidding.
00:02:57
Jessica
really.
00:02:58
Plant People
I would not have, um I missed that.
00:02:58
Brett
I do.
00:02:59
Jessica
who Who's your team?
00:03:00
Brett
I actually have a really actually have a really hard time following or watching college basketball now because they're not nearly as good.
00:03:00
Jessica
Let's hear it.
00:03:10
Brett
like The thing about college basketball that's fun is that it's unpredictable because the people the people who are playing it are not universally as good.
00:03:10
Plant People
It's hard to go back.
00:03:18
Plant People
Yes, there is more variability.
00:03:19
Jessica
Well, I gotta know. who do you Who's your team?
00:03:22
Brett
um I don't really, i don actually really don't particularly root for a team that the Memphis Grizzlies are really hard to root for. They're like probably the closest physically to this, maybe the Pacers again, kind of difficult to watch.
00:03:33
Plant People
yeah
00:03:34
Brett
um But I would say if I had to, if I had to root for a team and this is going to sound really stupid because they're like the best team this year, but it would be the, um the Oklahoma Thunder. Cause Shea Gilgis Alexander from UK plays for them.
00:03:45
Jessica
Yeah.
00:03:46
Plant People
Yeah, UK connection.
00:03:47
Jessica
Uh-huh.
00:03:48
Plant People
i like it.
00:03:49
Brett
um I like them. I also like, ah I enjoy watching the Warriors because it's like a different very different play style. Or not different play style, but really fun to watch play style.
00:04:00
Brett
um And yeah, the Grizzlies earlier this year were kind of fun. They were playing some different stuff, but
00:04:05
Jessica
We are just learning so much about each other because I would have never imagined that you would like NBA basketball.
00:04:06
Brett
yeah
00:04:07
Plant People
Yeah.
00:04:08
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:04:11
Brett
yeah. Yeah, I really watch games, but I do watch a lot of like analysis and highlights and kind of keep up with the standings and that kind of stuff.
00:04:18
Jessica
I'm sorry to all the baseball people who were probably like, oh, I like baseball because that's the spring going to a baseball game.
00:04:19
Plant People
We learned something completely new.
00:04:26
Jessica
That is fun. Watching baseball on TV. a
00:04:31
Plant People
Yeah. I like to watch a baseball in person.
00:04:32
Jessica
It's not really my thing.
00:04:32
Plant People
It's big fun.
00:04:33
Brett
If you want to cosplay your pastimes like it's still 1925, then go on and do that.
00:04:38
Plant People
Baseball. Baseball's it.
00:04:40
Brett
But the rest of us, I'm just teasing.
00:04:40
Plant People
Unlock. So is that your springtime activity? Your favorite springtime activity, Brett, is NBA not involving plants?
00:04:47
Brett
no oh No, no, no, no, no.
00:04:49
Plant People
No.
00:04:49
Brett
um My favorite springtime activity is is the transition back to cooking outside more on the grill.
00:04:50
Plant People
I mean, i want to know.
00:04:54
Plant People
oh yeah. we talking breads or just everything?
00:04:56
Jessica
a good one.
00:04:58
Brett
Everything. um
00:04:59
Plant People
Everything? Yeah.
00:05:00
Brett
Do like, ah so my my wife and I are mostly vegetarian. So I'll do like tempeh ribs with some vegetables, do some homemade burgers, do, you know, any variety of things.
00:05:04
Plant People
Mm-hmm.
00:05:12
Brett
I have a charcoal, I got a pellet grill, got a blackstone.
00:05:15
Plant People
Ooh, super cool.
00:05:16
Brett
So you you name it.
00:05:17
Plant People
Yeah.
00:05:18
Jessica
Oh. All
00:05:18
Plant People
Griddle and everything. So you have it all.
00:05:19
Brett
Oh, yeah.
00:05:21
Plant People
Very cool.
00:05:21
Brett
That's my favorite thing that was like, oh, it's nice to stand outside.
00:05:23
Plant People
Nice enough to hang out outside.
00:05:24
Brett
Now I'll do this.
00:05:25
Plant People
That's a good one. Yeah, that is that is kind of a rite of passage. Love it.
00:05:28
Alexis
season
00:05:29
Jessica
right.
00:05:29
Plant People
Alexis, I know you've got something like, hopefully that does not involve plants.
00:05:29
Brett
How about y'all?
00:05:31
Jessica
You have to have something.
00:05:34
Plant People
I know this is stressful for you. I mean, Brett just nailed it.
00:05:39
Alexis
I would say the thing that I wish I maybe we'll put it this way. Something that I enjoy that I wish I could do more, but it happens when My season is crazy. Like the best time of year to do it is also the most ah intense year for farming or time of the year for farming is fishing.
00:05:56
Plant People
Oh,
00:05:56
Alexis
so
00:05:56
Plant People
um okay
00:05:56
Alexis
we have a we have a bass boat. And ah so my, this time year is great. Crappie fishing, right? When the dogwoods bloom, the crappie fish are biting is the rule of thumb ah there. So they are, I like all types of fishing, but if I, I wish I could do it more.
00:06:15
Alexis
yeah, but Yeah. Oh, well, I try.
00:06:19
Brett
So is it is it that you're often ah doing your your thing in the with the farm and and Tyler goes fishing?
00:06:24
Alexis
Yeah, i got planned stuff to do. Yeah. Yeah. He always asks me and I always say, maybe if I get stuff done today and he goes, so you're not going.
00:06:29
Brett
Yeah.
00:06:32
Plant People
Never.
00:06:33
Alexis
And I go, well, we'll see.
00:06:33
Plant People
So, yeah. So you've not committed her right away.
00:06:35
Jessica
Yeah.
00:06:36
Plant People
So yeah, that's fun time.
00:06:37
Alexis
Yeah. Sometimes I commit right away and then he goes, oh, yeah, by the way, it's going to be 30 mile per hour winds and it might rain.
00:06:43
Plant People
Nevermind.
00:06:43
Alexis
And I go, never mind. I don't want to go.
00:06:44
Plant People
No, thanks. And it's going to be cold and miserable.
00:06:45
Jessica
Yeah. Yeah.
00:06:46
Brett
I wanted to enjoy myself. Sorry, I should have clarified that.
00:06:48
Alexis
Well, see, yeah, I wanted to enjoy myself. Now, since we've been married, I don't have to go just to go anymore i don't have to prove myself.
00:06:57
Plant People
you Yeah.
00:06:57
Alexis
I used to go when it was like 20 degrees and i got him now.
00:06:59
Plant People
You've already signed the pack and everything.
00:06:59
Jessica
Yeah. Because you you got him now.
00:07:00
Plant People
Yeah. Yeah.
00:07:02
Jessica
Oh.
00:07:02
Plant People
You got him.
00:07:02
Alexis
So I don't got to, but yeah yeah okay.
00:07:03
Plant People
You've already made that catch. You've made the big catch.
00:07:04
Brett
Yeah, you've got that fish on the hook.
00:07:06
Plant People
Yes, sir exactly.
00:07:07
Alexis
bye
00:07:07
Plant People
Landed him.
00:07:08
Alexis
so that one's in the live.
00:07:08
Plant People
Landed him.
00:07:09
Alexis
Well,
00:07:10
Plant People
Oh, it's in the live well, keeping him alive.
00:07:10
Jessica
who
00:07:12
Alexis
keep him in.
00:07:12
Plant People
so
00:07:13
Alexis
He's in the freezer right now.
00:07:14
Brett
So threatening.
00:07:14
Alexis
actually
00:07:15
Plant People
umma out I'm impressed with the diversity I'm hearing. We learned lots about sports and fishing, which is also of sport.
00:07:20
Brett
It made me think of like the Saw movies.
00:07:22
Plant People
Yeah. The live well. Yeah.
00:07:24
Alexis
Live well straight into the freezer after processing.
00:07:25
Jessica
I'm kind of afraid to look in your freezer now.
00:07:26
Plant People
It's good. but
00:07:28
Alexis
i get the, we get the electric filet knife out.
00:07:28
Brett
What was your answer, Ray?
00:07:30
Plant People
Oh man, it's kind of kind like an escape room. There's a little challenge to the live well. You know, it puts the lotion on its bass or whatever.
00:07:37
Brett
An unsolvable escape room.
00:07:38
Jessica
Oh,
00:07:39
Plant People
Yeah, I'll tell you. um
00:07:40
Alexis
ah Where do you think I get my imitation crab from guys?
00:07:43
Jessica
oh gosh.
00:07:43
Plant People
Yeah, the live well.
00:07:44
Plant People
I don't know.
00:07:45
Brett
Soiling green is people.
00:07:46
Plant People
yeah Good one. All the springs.
00:07:48
Alexis
All right. Well, we are talking about.
00:07:49
Plant People
and I'm such a fun time.
00:07:49
Brett
Wait, what was Ray's answer? What did Ray have an answer about spring?
00:07:51
Jessica
Yeah.
00:07:51
Alexis
Yeah.
00:07:51
Jessica
Ray. Ray.
00:07:52
Alexis
Oh, I don't know.
00:07:52
Plant People
I mean, it's not technically related to plants, but I do, and Brett and I started a little discussion before we started recording, is I do like to take walks, especially in the spring, because, well, it's springtime.
00:07:52
Alexis
Yeah.
00:08:04
Plant People
I'm not going to mention the plant aspect, even though spring ephemerals, very good reason. But I love to hike, and it's the transition, the weather, the fact that bugs aren't out yet is a huge bonus, because deer, deer flies are the bane of my existence.
00:08:17
Plant People
So yeah, yeah, I like to get out even more in the springtime. Good times, good times.
00:08:21
Alexis
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. But you know what's not a good time in the spring?
00:08:26
Jessica
oh
00:08:26
Plant People
What?
00:08:26
Brett
What?
00:08:27
Alexis
Jessica, what's not a good time in the spring?
00:08:28
Plant People
Temperature fluctuations?
00:08:30
Jessica
Frost and freeze. Freeze and frost.
00:08:33
Plant People
that
00:08:33
Alexis
Late spring, especially.
00:08:35
Brett
You will not put me in the cooler.
00:08:35
Jessica
Yes.
00:08:35
Alexis
Frozone.
00:08:35
Plant People
Is that Marvel characters, Frost and Freeze?
00:08:38
Jessica
Right? Sounds like characters.
00:08:40
Alexis
fifty
00:08:41
Plant People
Frozone, if you're on the Incredibles.
00:08:41
Jessica
Right? Yeah, those things, those things are not fun.
00:08:44
Alexis
But yeah, they...
00:08:44
Plant People
Where's my super suit?
00:08:47
Jessica
They're not fun from a commercial standpoint, from a homeowner standpoint.
00:08:50
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:08:52
Plant People
no
00:08:53
Jessica
Or, i mean, I guess some people, like I was talking at work, like we've just recently had two back to back, as Alexis mentioned in the beginning, sans or whatever we he said.
00:09:05
Plant People
Whatever the word it is
00:09:05
Alexis
Sans freeze.
Frost Challenges and Plant Protection
00:09:07
Jessica
Freeze. Yeah. And I definitely was like, I got to go home and cover things. and And some of my coworkers were like, oh, what?
00:09:14
Plant People
word
00:09:17
Jessica
Like, why are you covering? So if you are definitely a plant person at all, you are high alert for these um late. Are we really, pretty young which I guess late now, frost freezes, maybe not really late still, but freeze or frost.
00:09:30
Alexis
and Yeah, it's definitely late for a freeze. I would say it's not too late in our area of Kentucky, central Kentucky.
00:09:36
Brett
quick quick clarification on the difference
00:09:36
Alexis
It's not too late for a frost. We kind of expect those through the beginning of May. um Above freezing, below freezing is how i how I think there's technically temperature differences, but that's, again, I'm ah i'm a big rule of thumb person. So um
00:09:51
Brett
okay so like the 30 32 okay and there's also freezes and not hard freezes and
00:09:52
Plant People
in jail Yeah.
00:09:52
Jessica
it's yeah yeah it's like it's like 28 it's like once it hits 28 and then it's you know and that the duration of that is when you get into those really hard freezes that can cause that covering doesn't even help
00:09:53
Alexis
right, right. 32 and above is a frost and below that is considered a freeze. And then below like Yeah.
00:10:03
Plant People
And ah duration. Yeah.
00:10:06
Alexis
Yeah. Mm-hmm.
00:10:09
Plant People
I start warning people.
00:10:12
Alexis
Yeah.
00:10:13
Plant People
I mean, I start worrying people at 30, usually 36 or 35.
00:10:13
Jessica
yeah
00:10:16
Plant People
I will put out some information because even at those temperatures, because of thermal inversions and all the stuff we'll try not to get new technical on um at ground level at an average air temperature of 35.
00:10:28
Plant People
thirty five I mean, it's still you're going to get some issues. So I start to think about putting out some information, giving people as a heads up around 36 degrees.
00:10:36
Jessica
Yeah.
00:10:36
Plant People
And letting them know because once you get really close to the ground for things like strawberries, it can still be up freezing even though, you know, higher up a measurement of breast height, maybe 35 degrees and maybe 32 on the ground.
00:10:47
Plant People
So, yeah, that sort of triggers things.
00:10:48
Jessica
yeah and You never, and and so like where we had these two back to back, I covered some stuff both nights. And the first night, like we didn't have like a frost with it.
00:11:00
Jessica
But then last night we did.
00:11:01
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:11:03
Jessica
So I was glad that I still covered.
00:11:04
Plant People
Yeah.
00:11:06
Jessica
um I didn't cover everything that we had in our yard. I covered a perennial plant.
00:11:10
Brett
what What is it? Yeah. what are What are the things that you are covering and and what's the hierarchy of this one gets covered first and then from there?
00:11:17
Jessica
Right. So um definitely like farm wise, when we did have strawberries, it would have been an extremely stressful 48 hours of covering.
00:11:24
Plant People
Yes. Yeah. Even if there's no blooms or anything.
00:11:28
Jessica
right
00:11:28
Plant People
Yeah.
00:11:29
Jessica
For those guys. But for my house, we haven't been there that long. And I've just really started getting like some new perennials in and established. So there was one that I purchased last year that I was really excited about. That was just a little stick last year.
00:11:44
Jessica
And it's kind of exploded already. So I definitely wanted to cover that one versus some other perennials. I kind of just waved like, you know, I can get cat mint anywhere. if something happens with that one, or, you know, and then
00:11:55
Plant People
Yeah. Catman cannot be hurt. It will be back in some form or fashion.
00:11:58
Jessica
Yep. It'll be back.
00:12:00
Jessica
Um, but then we'd planted some rhubarb last year and, um, and we had a drought at the end of the year and I made sure to water that rhubarb.
00:12:00
Plant People
Yeah.
00:12:03
Plant People
Well, fun.
00:12:09
Jessica
And so we were excited to see that three of the four plants we planted have already like popped up and we're growing good. So made sure to cover them. And I've trained my son so well because he, this morning was it like, we have to check the rhubarb. We have to get out there and make sure it's okay.
00:12:26
Jessica
Um, But i was glad I did put those covers over that because this morning I definitely had a frost out there versus, you know, the day before it just got really cold.
00:12:30
Alexis
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. yeah
00:12:35
Plant People
Now, you say covers, you've mentioned both covers for home situations, and then you've mentioned like strawberries that you mentioned covers.
00:12:40
Jessica
huh
00:12:43
Plant People
Can we take a little dive into, because ah that's the most typical scenario I hear about is covering things.
00:12:44
Jessica
Yeah.
00:12:49
Jessica
Yeah.
00:12:50
Plant People
ah Can you talk more about that?
00:12:50
Jessica
Yeah. Yeah, and Alexa can jump in too with her with commercial wise, but like with strawberry situation, we're usually using like a Rime cloth, a frost protection cloth that can help it by a couple of degrees, keep that radiating heat in and also that frost off and
00:12:59
Plant People
Mm-hmm.
00:12:59
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:13:08
Jessica
keeping in mind having something there is a barrier between the um plants and the cloth. So they don't touch if you have that hard, harder frost on there to hit those plant leaves and could damage.
00:13:22
Jessica
And then for at home, i have just used as what you see a lot of people do towels. ah We use a big ah tablecloth to stretch across like our rhubarb plants last night, just to keep them, you know, keep that frost per you know off of the top of those leaves.
00:13:38
Jessica
Something you want to avoid is using plastic um that, and and especially like you don't want to leave it and then walk away and um that sun come out, heats it up and you can actually kind fry, fry some things and it's not a good, not a good combo.
00:13:41
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:13:42
Plant People
Yeah. Yeah.
00:13:49
Plant People
yeah
00:13:52
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:13:56
Jessica
um And then still just getting those, you know, removing everything in the morning, unless those cold temperatures are holding. For a longer period of time.
00:14:06
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:14:06
Plant People
yeah
00:14:08
Alexis
Or the sun doesn't come out.
00:14:08
Jessica
Because. Yep.
00:14:09
Alexis
Like sometimes the...
00:14:10
Plant People
know some of the commercial coverings, yeah, you can leave some of those on depending.
00:14:12
Jessica
Yeah.
00:14:13
Plant People
There's like two or three, well, more than three common weights with different, you know, thermal qualities.
00:14:13
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:14:17
Jessica
hmm.
00:14:19
Alexis
Yeah.
00:14:19
Plant People
But some of those you can leave on, but I've heard commercial growers talk a lot about their trigger point for removing things if it gets above 50 degrees under there. And if the weather's not supposed to be too cold, like it reaches a certain temperature, you want to kind of start thinking about commercially removing those, especially those heavier weight materials are pretty incredible.
00:14:35
Jessica
Mm hmm.
00:14:35
Brett
Thank you.
00:14:35
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:14:38
Plant People
I don't see them a lot, but I mean, they'll give up to 10 degrees.
00:14:41
Alexis
Ag 50 and stuff like that.
00:14:43
Plant People
Yeah, that is six to 10 degrees, which is huge advantage, but it also traps heat under there.
00:14:43
Jessica
Yeah.
00:14:43
Alexis
Yeah.
00:14:47
Jessica
it's makes a big difference. Yeah. Yeah.
00:14:48
Alexis
We talk about, yeah, we talk, we have an episode and if you're interested in this, maybe after you've seen what frost and freeze can do, if you're in Kentucky or other areas, even we've got an episode called frost protection for garden and landscapes, and it aired March 31st of last year.
00:14:50
Plant People
Yeah.
00:15:07
Alexis
So that's season two, episode 13. Yeah. um
00:15:10
Plant People
yeah
00:15:10
Alexis
Maybe we can post a link to that if you're interested. But we we go through like some weights and some more like nuances of what to do, what not to do on that.
00:15:15
Plant People
yeah
00:15:15
Jessica
Mm-hmm.
00:15:17
Plant People
yeah
00:15:18
Alexis
But I think maybe we want to like focus on, all right, so we've had this. Maybe you covered, maybe you didn't. Maybe you covered and still have damage, which I think I've got some plants that, you know, the plant is going to live, but I'll probably lose the bloom on.
00:15:31
Alexis
um even with covering. So maybe thinking about like, what are the steps? How long are we going to see? Like, and so we, until we see damage, you know, are we going to see it immediately? Are we going to see it later into the spring?
00:15:43
Alexis
um Cause I think that that, yeah.
00:15:44
Plant People
That's the big rule, isn't it
00:15:46
Jessica
Right.
00:15:46
Alexis
Yeah.
00:15:46
Plant People
I mean, that's the big rule.
00:15:46
Alexis
There's.
00:15:48
Plant People
I mean, ah yeah I'm sure you guys have your own rubric of making decisions on these things, but my number one rule that I tell homeowners is, that's a great point, Alexis, is wait. Give it time because it's hard to assess the damage given the plant, the severity of the temperature and all of this.
00:16:02
Jessica
right
00:16:05
Plant People
You just can't tell what you need to address until you give that plant time I mean, it's early in Kentucky. The plants are going to break out and they're going to be growing, you know, for the most part very quickly.
00:16:17
Plant People
You're going to see that damage better later on. And you're going to be able to better address that potential damage if you give it some time. Because right now you just don't know, do you?
00:16:26
Alexis
Yeah, I mean, sometimes know if it's a more herbaceous plant.
00:16:29
Plant People
ah You'll see that it's just melted. Yeah.
00:16:32
Alexis
Yeah, or you'll see what we call it in peonies, and you can use this term in a lot of plants, but you'll hear it a lot in like peony production, bud blast, which can can mean that you...
00:16:32
Jessica
hmm
00:16:43
Alexis
it just Usually it's referring to the cold. Sometimes it refers to disease, killing the bud. We call bud blast, but usually the the first... trigger is that the bud has a damage from cold and then you get a secondary pathogen that moves in.
00:16:58
Alexis
And so people, you know, might say, oh no, it's from botrytis. And you're like, well, um originally it was probably from cold damage, but you're not really wrong either way.
00:17:08
Plant People
I know in the fruit tree world, we split a lot of buds.
00:17:08
Jessica
eight
00:17:11
Plant People
Is that what you guys do in the floral world too?
00:17:11
Alexis
Mm-mm.
00:17:12
Plant People
Do you take a knife and like split buds to to assess the the color, dark color versus normal green color?
00:17:17
Alexis
oh
00:17:18
Plant People
Do you guys do that a lot in the floral world?
00:17:20
Alexis
and
00:17:20
Plant People
and We do that in the fruit world.
00:17:21
Alexis
I don't.
00:17:22
Plant People
It tends to be more common.
00:17:22
Alexis
I don't have that knowledge, but you might have like a, like a big producer, you know, who's growing 20,000.
00:17:23
Plant People
Yeah. Gotcha. I didn't know.
00:17:26
Jessica
You
00:17:26
Plant People
Yeah.
00:17:27
Brett
You're seeing it as an as an assessment technique, Ray, right?
00:17:27
Alexis
Yeah.
00:17:29
Plant People
As an assessment technique, mid winter, not even springtime, but yeah.
00:17:29
Jessica
Oh,
00:17:30
Brett
Not like a ah management technique.
00:17:33
Plant People
Yeah, exactly.
00:17:33
Alexis
Yeah.
00:17:33
Plant People
As an assessment technique.
00:17:34
Alexis
yeah and
00:17:34
Brett
I was going to ask if you split the bud, does that give you a perfectly pre-cut apple that you can then package?
00:17:37
Alexis
I know. I was like, I don't, yeah, that, no, that makes sense.
00:17:38
Plant People
Hey, later in the season. Yeah.
00:17:40
Jessica
Yeah.
00:17:40
Alexis
No, usually with um a lot of florals, if they're, you'll know pretty quickly whether or not it's going to be, you know, productive.
00:17:40
Jessica
It,
00:17:45
Jessica
it you
00:17:48
Alexis
Okay.
00:17:48
Plant People
Yeah.
00:17:48
Jessica
ah Alexis, you bring up when you start talking about florals, a question that i already received today
Cold Weather Impact on Flowers
00:17:53
Alexis
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
00:17:53
Jessica
was about, um are like peonies going to survive?
00:17:57
Jessica
Because my, oh no, they were up so high already, but they don't have buds on them yet. Versus like, I have a patch of tulips that already had some open, some were not open.
00:18:10
Jessica
Like ah what, what, you know, what do you normally tell people with that?
00:18:13
Alexis
Yeah. i also i also had some calls from some CCD teammates that were like, what do I cover?
00:18:14
Jessica
Because it's like,
00:18:19
Alexis
What do I do? um And so peonies that have large buds, even like even the small buds I wouldn't have worried about. like As an example, plants that have a more swollen bud is going to be, that means they're closer to opening. That means they're more susceptible. They're not as immature they're not as ah immature and um ready to fight off the, you know, ah the weather.
00:18:43
Jessica
Right.
00:18:45
Alexis
And so peonies that are just up with no buds, unless they were new, like unless they were newly planted this past fall, even then, I wouldn't like there'd be no worry for me on that.
00:18:56
Jessica
right
00:18:57
Alexis
I always tell people peonies grow in Alaska. Like they have a huge peony production in Alaska. the The hard, the thing with peonies is that they can't get cold after they get nice big swollen buds. Prior to that, they are super cold hardy.
00:19:12
Alexis
And if they're immature anyways, you really don't want them to flower. So if they lose their, you know, for whatever reason, they lose those buds, um, it's you know it they just did the debuting for you uh but like lilacs could be pretty similar uh you know if the flower is open if a tulip is open or colored up and about to open it's very susceptible versus color crack
00:19:32
Plant People
I've heard the color thing before, Alexis. It's interesting. They said if you're showing color, you're showing vulnerability as far as the temperature goes.
00:19:38
Alexis
ye yep yep yep yeah we call that color crack is it at color crack stage that's what that's what they'll ask you
00:19:39
Jessica
Mm-hmm.
00:19:39
Plant People
is that So that's true then. Okay.
00:19:43
Plant People
Gotcha. I mean, the same is true of an apple blossom. As it starts to show what we what we call pink stage, the further that those buds go along, those fruit buds, the less hardy they are to a point to where there's already fruit on there.
00:19:50
Alexis
e
00:19:56
Plant People
Then it starts to go the other way again. But yeah, so that's so that's universally true then.
00:20:00
Brett
I'm learning all kinds of new terms.
00:20:01
Plant People
Okay.
00:20:02
Brett
There's color crack, ah bud blast. i thought I always thought of bud blasts as hanging out and having a good time with your friends.
00:20:09
Plant People
having a big time. I like it.
00:20:11
Alexis
ah
00:20:11
Plant People
I like it.
00:20:12
Alexis
You might use that term, but we don't use that with you.
00:20:13
Brett
i'm having I'm having a bud blast right now, you guys.
00:20:16
Plant People
Yeah. We're with our buds, man.
00:20:16
Jessica
Wow.
00:20:17
Plant People
Yeah. Instead of true leaves, maybe, yeah, be real buds or something like that.
00:20:18
Alexis
gro
00:20:22
Plant People
Yeah.
00:20:22
Brett
you you Ray, you mentioned the the fruit tree thing.
00:20:23
Plant People
Color buds.
00:20:23
Alexis
That's pretty cute.
00:20:25
Plant People
Okay.
00:20:27
Brett
And that is one, like as far as on the commercial scale and at you know in any scale, really anybody who has fruit trees, this is a key stressful time of year for that.
00:20:38
Jessica
I...
00:20:39
Plant People
Yeah.
00:20:39
Brett
And if you if you watched or listened to our previous episode, you can watch us on YouTube or listen to us on you know anywhere you get your podcasts.
00:20:39
Plant People
Yeah.
00:20:48
Brett
about pruning, um you know, in in essence, the the um winter, but late winter weather comes along, it doesn't prune off the branches, but it can knock off all those buds and surprise, surprise, flowers in general are the reproductive cycle of a plant and they give rise to fruit.
00:21:00
Plant People
yeah
00:21:08
Brett
Fruit is the thing that we generally want from our fruit trees. And so those buds which come out and on fruit trees before a lot of the leaves do,
00:21:15
Plant People
Yeah.
00:21:16
Brett
this is like prime time for them to potentially get knocked off.
00:21:18
Jessica
Mm-hmm.
00:21:19
Brett
This is why we only have peaches, you know, once every, you know, two or three times every 10 years or so is what I've heard people say before.
00:21:19
Plant People
and
00:21:22
Plant People
mini
00:21:27
Brett
It's, it's because these frosts come and knock these buds off. Have you been, there any conversation with any of the orchard folks that you,
00:21:34
Plant People
Yeah. I've been visiting with them. Even ah three weeks ago, we were walking through, I think it was um ah field of contender peaches, which is one of our better cold hardy varieties
Fruit Trees and Cold Sensitivity
00:21:44
Plant People
commercially.
00:21:44
Plant People
And even those being one of the more cold, hardy peaches, maybe seeing two viable buds out of every 10. And that was not for from late season fluctuations.
00:21:56
Plant People
That was just simply from cold weather, you know, back in the winter.
00:21:58
Jessica
Mm-hmm.
00:21:59
Alexis
a
00:22:00
Plant People
So I really worry. I don't know what the current situation is. I need to visit with our orchard guys again. But it was not very encouraging for peaches. So we start monitoring these things even midwinter.
00:22:12
Plant People
because you know the extreme cold temperatures, if you get down below a certain temperature for certain crops like peaches that are very sensitive to that, you can you know lose the fruit production. But apples, much, much better.
00:22:25
Plant People
i mean, they'll go negative four, negative 10, as long they're in tight cluster, and no problem. But now once they start to open up, I mean, a typical freeze that may hurt you know some of the plants Alexis talked about at 32 degrees are going to hurt those plants.
00:22:40
Alexis
Science?
00:22:40
Plant People
And they don't start to get tougher until you actually have fruit set.
00:22:45
Jessica
Mm-hmm.
00:22:45
Plant People
And when they start to have fruit on them, it gets a little bit better.
00:22:45
Jessica
huh
00:22:48
Plant People
They're more resistant to the cold. You may have frost cracking, have a frost ring on the fruit, but you won't have complete loss of the fruit until you get, you know, pretty low in temperature again. and there's there's ways of calculating that.
00:23:02
Plant People
you know, you can say at this temperature for this duration, there's 10% fruit loss. There's ways of kind of looking into the crystal ball there.
00:23:07
Alexis
so
00:23:08
Plant People
Science, yes, and and historical data. But it's interesting that when we're talking about these these reproductive structures, these flower structures, it's really interesting at what temperature and the duration of that temperature that you get losses.
00:23:22
Plant People
And fruit trees, for example, you asked Brett.
00:23:22
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:23:24
Plant People
I mean, they kind of go through this cycle of being, you know, not very vulnerable to pretty vulnerable populations. to back again, being more hardy once they have fruit set on there.
00:23:31
Jessica
Mm-hmm. huh
00:23:32
Plant People
So, yeah.
00:23:33
Brett
Yeah, ah I'll give it just a real quick plug. So um we, the Alexis and I work with this for the Center for Crop Diversification. And we have ah a Facebook page and an Instagram page as well. But if you go over on Facebook, we shared a post back on April 6th, I think.
00:23:49
Brett
um And it has, it's it's a post from our colleagues who, with ah the fruit extension team, University Kentucky fruit extension team, um where they shared some pictures of the buds of different types of fruit, the the the fruit buds, flower buds at different stages and with temperatures showing, ah you know, for instance, um there's apricots here. and You got to say apricots or apricots?
00:24:16
Plant People
Apricots, I guess.
00:24:18
Jessica
Apricots.
00:24:18
Plant People
Yeah.
00:24:18
Brett
No. Divided. i would say i normally would say apricots, but I said apricots because I thought it made me sound fancier for you all.
00:24:26
Plant People
It is pretty fancy. I like that.
00:24:27
Brett
Apricot feels a little more, you know.
00:24:27
Alexis
Yeah.
00:24:29
Plant People
Common.
00:24:30
Brett
down home. But I would say apricots anyway. So apricots when the the bud is just swelling, um if it gets you can get down to 15 degrees and that will only trigger like a 10% kill.
00:24:42
Brett
So 10% of the buds will, will maybe be killed at 15 degrees, just a little bit more open than that, which is this fifth stage that they describe here as tips separate um at 20 degrees, you'll get a 10% kill.
00:24:42
Plant People
Yeah. Yeah.
00:24:58
Brett
Uh, and then as it it moves along, you can see that, that, uh, higher, and a warmer and warmer temperature is still dangerous.
00:24:58
Plant People
Yeah.
00:25:05
Brett
The more and more that it opens. And even to the point where you have green fruit, if it gets down to 25, you will have a 90% kill, even with green fruit and apricot.
00:25:14
Alexis
Ooh.
00:25:15
Plant People
yeah
00:25:16
Brett
So apricot I'm code switching now.
00:25:16
Jessica
Yeah.
00:25:18
Brett
Um, so anyway, there's just some pictures to kind of, what's that?
00:25:19
Jessica
My in-laws have one of those and was just saying my in-laws have one of those and it's beautiful flowering, but they've never gotten fruit off of it. Yeah.
00:25:27
Plant People
Yeah, those those are tough crops and some of the absolute ah most sensitive. And and some I need to catch up with some of some of ah one of our newest orchard in Bourbon County.
00:25:34
Brett
Thank you.
00:25:36
Plant People
They did something this year. I think they use fans to help, you know, a mix air basically to take a very complex process and distill it down.
00:25:38
Jessica
um
00:25:44
Plant People
But to to avoid that, this... process where cold air sinks and warm air rises.
00:25:51
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:25:51
Plant People
They were trying to blend the air. I need to catch up with them to see how they did with that. I'm very, very excited and interested because ah commercially there's all sorts of things that you can do. And that's one of the the methods that, not newer methods, it's been around for a long time, but it's newer to Kentucky.
Commercial Frost Protection Techniques
00:26:07
Brett
Mm-hmm.
00:26:07
Plant People
But you can use fans to sort of on a very still, clear night, you get these temperatures inversions where warm air rises. And if there's no clouds and no wind to mix that air, then cold air really settles. Warm air really rises.
00:26:22
Plant People
And what you do then is you bring in something like fans and actually mix the air, the microclimate around the orchard. But I'm really interested in that. That's ah obviously a commercial advanced sort of technique. It takes a very specialized effort.
00:26:35
Plant People
fan system to do that. But super interesting when Jessica mentioned this, putting a blanket over plants, you you're going to get some protection. And on the commercial side, you're doing all these advanced things like using fans or smudge pots or, you know, irrigation to release energy through icing.
00:26:50
Jessica
Mm-hmm.
00:26:52
Plant People
I mean, there's all these methods, ah but it's all playing on the same principles, you know, of temperature and the type of cold that you have.
00:27:00
Brett
Yeah.
00:27:00
Plant People
Alexis, you mentioned a couple of terms there is really interesting to me.
00:27:03
Brett
It's literally thermodynamics for horticulturists.
00:27:04
Plant People
around Yes.
00:27:05
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:27:06
Plant People
Yes. And it, it gets, you can go pretty deep on that, but it's fascinating. and And you mentioned covering Jessica. I know that Alexis, you know, mentioned, and we talked a lot about that, um the different types of coverings and stuff.
00:27:21
Plant People
And we've already covered that last year. Did you say in March of last year, Alexis?
00:27:25
Alexis
yep Yep. Yeah. So we've got we've got some info on like the doing of it.
00:27:25
Plant People
Yeah.
00:27:28
Alexis
ah I guess I just, I know people start to panic right after a month or so sometimes even, you know, it's like if it's initial and you see it the next day or within the next week, usually you can say, oh, it's because of the frost or freeze.
00:27:29
Plant People
Yeah.
00:27:33
Jessica
Mm-hmm.
00:27:40
Plant People
Yeah.
00:27:42
Alexis
But there are situations I think out there ah where people
00:27:43
Plant People
Yeah.
00:27:48
Alexis
you'll see remnants of damage you know a month later and you're like, what happened? What did I do wrong?
00:27:54
Plant People
yeah
00:27:54
Alexis
ah And I just kind of wanted to like think about maybe what those were, point them out to people so that they don't panic if they see it and just be like, I did, I've killed it, what's happening? um But like, and I kind of immediately think of ah like crepe myrtles or things things that are, do survive here.
00:28:13
Alexis
Figs, they do survive here, but maybe they won't fruit. Maybe they won't bloom or maybe a bunch, like a bunch of it will get killed back to the ground and people, you know, might not notice it because it's not super leafed out yet and for another month or so.
00:28:26
Jessica
I.
00:28:28
Alexis
Yeah. Or, you know, they don't, you know, well, figs, it's the opposite. It's usually in the and the fall that we see a problem. But, ah yeah, I just, what other things do you guys, can you guys think of that you see that kind of issue on?
00:28:40
Plant People
that we can do kind of thing. Oh.
00:28:44
Jessica
some uh just kind of a random thing which we do have like a kind of a little publication on it is one a when i first started an extension somebody brought in a very distinct looking apple that had a ring around the center and it was like what's going on with this apple i have several that are on my tree this way and it was from like frost damage but it was like the
00:29:00
Plant People
Yeah.
00:29:06
Plant People
Yeah, Frostrings.
00:29:06
Alexis
Hmm.
00:29:08
Jessica
you have frost rings that were showing up on the actual fruit of it and you wouldn't think that's where you would end up seeing it at right more of the like you think of like the tender like the leaves or the tender growth but it was a completely mature and i think they're still like fine to eat right they just look really funky on the outside
00:29:09
Alexis
Hmm. Hmm.
00:29:15
Plant People
Yeah.
00:29:19
Alexis
isn'
00:29:24
Alexis
o
00:29:26
Brett
So is that, is that that like when the fruit is small, the bottom of it gets damaged and then it's growing out from that bloom, that that tip?
00:29:34
Plant People
Yes. Essentially. Yeah. Yeah.
00:29:36
Brett
Wow.
00:29:36
Plant People
From what im understand, but it's a perfect ring around the, the blossom end of the apple.
00:29:37
Brett
That's crazy. I never thought of that.
00:29:38
Jessica
Yeah. It's a perfect ring. Yep.
00:29:41
Plant People
Yeah. It's and it's the blossom end. yeah
00:29:43
Brett
whoa
00:29:45
Plant People
But it'll be, and you can pick that out in orchards everywhere.
00:29:46
Alexis
but
00:29:47
Plant People
And once you see it, Brad, the bad thing, Brad, is once you see it, you cannot unsee it.
00:29:48
Alexis
Brett's brain.
00:29:52
Plant People
And you will point it out to people that don't want to hear about it.
00:29:54
Jessica
Yeah.
00:29:55
Plant People
All of your family and friends, you're going to be like, oh, they had late season for us this year.
00:29:57
Brett
They will be used to it. and I would say 90% of what I said is me pointing things out to people who don't want to hear about it.
00:30:04
Plant People
that's a great telltale sign.
00:30:05
Brett
They were like, oh yeah, cool.
00:30:06
Plant People
You can read the orchard with that one. You can read the orchard with that one.
00:30:08
Alexis
yeah The other other ones I'm thinking about are um sometimes the flower isn't, you know, of whatever it is, isn't completely dead, but it is a little bit deformed.
00:30:09
Brett
Huh.
00:30:09
Plant People
I'm trying to think what are some other things. Yeah.
00:30:19
Alexis
And so the, what is it, Jessica, help me? ah Is it some of the stamens or some of the pistils will dry, out um like die out. And so you,
00:30:28
Jessica
be a blackish color and
00:30:29
Alexis
Yeah. And so you don't, what that means, you don't get full fertilization for the fruit or if it's the flower, the flowers, right, are usually already formed in that bud.
00:30:33
Plant People
yeah
00:30:34
Brett
Mm-hmm.
00:30:40
Alexis
And so it might come out like kind of lopsided or maybe a little twisty looking. and that might, you know, if it's peonies, for example, like the the ones that I covered on mine that I still think got hit a little bit, ah you know, they're still pretty tight in bud and the ones that did make it might, you know, not bloom for another several weeks and they might be kind of wonky looking.
00:31:03
Alexis
And so petals missing, um maybe they're smaller, you know, maybe the centers are kind of black on them, the petals are okay.
00:31:06
Plant People
Yeah.
00:31:07
Brett
Thank you.
00:31:09
Jessica
All
00:31:10
Plant People
yeah
00:31:11
Alexis
So there's ah there's a bunch of things like that where if you forget that you had this like freezer frost, you know, a month ago, you might look at them and say like, oh no, I've got a disease or I haven't watered enough or something like that.
00:31:21
Jessica
right.
00:31:23
Alexis
And so ah that's a good one. ah Do you all remember, I think i've talked about this before, but I guess it was maybe like six or seven years ago, we had that like post Derby day frost or like at on Derby day, like like freeze more like it was.
00:31:38
Jessica
Mm-hmm.
00:31:40
Plant People
Was that 2020 or was that before then?
00:31:41
Jessica
It was during COVID, I thought, that we had.
00:31:42
Alexis
Now, wasn't during COVID, but
00:31:45
Jessica
Yeah.
00:31:46
Brett
This is the thing that killed like killed all the boxwoods.
00:31:46
Plant People
and know in 2020 we had a big one. Yeah, I'm still dealing with those questions.
00:31:49
Alexis
Um, no, that was a, that was winter.
00:31:50
Jessica
i ah That's a different one.
00:31:52
Alexis
That was a different, that was winter.
00:31:54
Plant People
Okay, you guys are thinking of the earlier one.
00:31:54
Brett
was over winter.
00:31:54
Alexis
That was a winter wind, no snowfall issue.
00:31:56
Jessica
Yeah.
00:31:57
Alexis
Now this one was like, everybody put their annuals in like they were supposed to at the right time.
00:31:57
Jessica
Yeah.
00:32:01
Jessica
Yep.
00:32:02
Alexis
They did everything by the book, me. And, and then we get this like freeze frost warning and how to cover everything.
00:32:10
Jessica
Yes.
00:32:11
Alexis
And I, this was, it's like a great example. was like a, uh, something that nailed it into me. And that's what I tell people when we say it's better to be late than too early. In this case, we weren't too, wasn't too early planting, but that really, really slowed my plants down.
00:32:25
Alexis
And so the plants I put in even two weeks after that, like I kept notes, the plants I put in two weeks after that, and these ones had already been in the ground for, you know, a week. So basically they're three weeks older, outgrew the first ones that went in because they were so stunted
00:32:39
Plant People
Yeah, the conditions are just so much better.
00:32:39
Jessica
Right. Right.
00:32:42
Alexis
Yeah, they were so stunted.
00:32:43
Jessica
right
00:32:43
Alexis
And so you may think I need to feed them more or I need to, you know, again, what have I done wrong? a lot of the times it's not necessarily what have you you done wrong?
00:32:52
Jessica
Just mother nature.
00:32:52
Alexis
ah It's just out of your control.
00:32:53
Jessica
Yeah.
00:32:54
Alexis
Yeah.
00:32:54
Jessica
Yes. I remember that because that's when we dipped our toes into making hanging baskets. And had, I hauled, put plastic down in my house where we lived at at the time.
00:33:01
Alexis
Mm hmm.
00:33:07
Jessica
And I hauled in all of these hanging baskets and, for the night and then the other ones just had to do my best cross my fingers and cover and try to protect them and because you're right it was like the right time to be planting
00:33:12
Plant People
Yeah.
00:33:22
Alexis
Yeah, yeah, it was like...
00:33:22
Plant People
Here in Kentucky, we use ah what the, what, the Kentucky Derby, which is what date typically, I forget what.
00:33:27
Alexis
ah first first weekend of May?
00:33:28
Brett
First Saturday in May, first Saturday in May.
00:33:28
Plant People
Yeah.
00:33:29
Jessica
first weekend in may
00:33:29
Plant People
But yesterday our master gardeners corrected me.
00:33:30
Alexis
Well...
00:33:32
Plant People
They stopped. I've referenced duck Derby day, you know, loosely as a, you know, indicator of when to plant things or get baskets or whatever. And one of them said, no, they said that's outdated. They said, mother's day is the new Derby day.
00:33:45
Plant People
And that just hit me. I'm like, it's maybe 11th.
00:33:46
Alexis
well
00:33:47
Plant People
And I'm like, it for homeowners.
00:33:47
Alexis
a No. ah Mother's Day is Ohio's version of Derby Days.
00:33:50
Jessica
It's like
00:33:53
Brett
Too late.
00:33:54
Plant People
Yeah.
00:33:54
Alexis
So that's not...
00:33:55
Plant People
They were talking about from a safety standpoint.
00:33:55
Brett
Conservant again.
00:33:56
Alexis
We just moved up zones.
00:33:57
Plant People
Yeah.
00:33:58
Alexis
Are they from Northern Kentucky or something?
00:33:59
Brett
But maybe maybe they're suggesting that the climate the climate the variability, like that it makes it more of a – like if you want to be conservative.
00:34:03
Plant People
The fluctuations is what they were addressing.
00:34:04
Alexis
a
00:34:05
Plant People
They said it's too unpredictable for homeowners.
00:34:08
Alexis
Yeah. Yeah.
Post-Frost Plant Care
00:34:09
Plant People
Yes. From a homeowner, but stamer so we had this whole discussion.
00:34:09
Brett
Interesting.
00:34:10
Alexis
Yeah.
00:34:10
Brett
Interesting.
00:34:10
Alexis
Well, we're wild cards up in here.
00:34:11
Brett
Yeah, I would – I'm from Louisville, so it's always Derby Day.
00:34:12
Alexis
So we're actually pushing it. Yeah.
00:34:15
Plant People
Yeah.
00:34:15
Jessica
Always derby day.
00:34:16
Plant People
Derby day is, ah is my standard reference point, but i mean, they really got into a discussion with one another and I just stood back and beheld it.
00:34:22
Alexis
Good for them.
00:34:23
Plant People
And they were like having this big thing, like, Oh, we had this killed and that killed. And, but I mean, yeah, it was interesting watching them have that discussion. the most interesting thing was, is that it was on their mind that they've, ah they've taken some, you know, they planted things and then a few of them had lost things over the last four or five years.
00:34:35
Alexis
and Yeah, it it happens.
00:34:43
Plant People
Yeah. But it it was interesting.
00:34:45
Alexis
It happens. by By, like, at least two of everything is the rule of thumb here. But...
00:34:48
Plant People
but You know, we're talking about plant damage, right?
00:34:48
Alexis
um
00:34:50
Plant People
That's the the heart of this conversation. And to me, when I go out and I assess plants, I immediately, when I see that there's damage on a boxwood or a succulent or whatever, I immediately go into plant care and taking care and removing stress from that plant so that I can give it the best chance to recover.
00:35:06
Plant People
And that is the way that I deal with like freeze damage because you want to make sure that the plant doesn't have any undue stress.
00:35:08
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:35:13
Plant People
You want to be careful not to dump a bunch of fertilizer on it. I caution homeowners about that, especially with the woodies. That's sometimes going to work against you, not for you. But really, it's just about generally removing stress, assessing damage later on,
00:35:22
Jessica
Mm-hmm.
00:35:28
Plant People
and giving that plant the the best opportunity for to recover. And that's kind of how I deal with that. It's not a ah silver bullet, but that's just my general way when I'm working, especially with homeowners.
00:35:39
Plant People
It's different commercially, but that's kind of my takeaway for this messaging is that prune at the proper time once you see the complete damage. And that's more on the woodies. Alexis had some great comments for more of the succulent, you know, were more of the herbaceous stuff.
00:35:51
Alexis
Yeah. And patience. We're going to leave you with that.
00:35:56
Plant People
Not impatience, but patience.
00:35:56
Alexis
Patience.
00:35:57
Plant People
Yes.
00:35:58
Alexis
Be patient with your plants.
00:35:59
Jessica
Mm-hmm.
00:35:59
Plant People
Yes, yes, yes, yes.
00:35:59
Alexis
They will recover. Just give them a little extra TLC, uh, and they'll be okay.
00:36:04
Plant People
Yes.
00:36:05
Alexis
So if you, if you want more info on that, check out the show notes for, ah any of the publications.
00:36:06
Plant People
Absolutely.
00:36:11
Alexis
We've got some, some info that we can post there, as well as you can follow, uh, Kentucky fruit, uh, If you don't can't find it, go to the Center for Crop Diversification Facebook page and you can find a link to them there as well as all the other cool stuff and that we do.
00:36:29
Alexis
You can follow the podcast on Instagram at HortCulturePod. and That's in the show notes as well. Shoot us an email. Drop us a note. What do you want to hear? And that will be, we do get those. We do look at them. And if we didn't respond, it's because it went to a spam and we are sorry. Please send it again.
00:36:46
Alexis
Give us five stars, but we appreciate you guys being here today and we will, we hope you will join us next time. Have a great one.