Gardening and Landscaping Stack Exchange
Gardening and Landscaping Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [frost]

Covering of ice caused by locally sub-freezing temperatures.

Frost is formed when water vapour freezes and forms an ice covering over the ground and/or plants. Typically frost forms when the air temperature drops below freezing (0C, 32F) - this is an air frost.

Moisture evaporation can cause localized drops in air temperature close to the ground. This results in a ground frost where frost is formed even though the air temperature a few feet above the ground remains just above freezing.

Frosts can damage plants, crops, and fruit. Use this tag for questions about hardiness against frosts, and how to protect sensitive plants against frosts.

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When do I need to protect a fruit tree from cold, and how do I do it?

The last couple of weeks we had unusually warm weather in the Northeast -- several days had record warm temperatures. My pair of (two-year-old, 8' high) peach trees have buds earlier than usual. If it matters, the varieties are Reliance and Red…
bstpierre
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How can I best get an alert if overnight frost is predicted?

What's the best way to get warned if there's going to be a frost? Is there website or online service which will email me? My priority would be a service which emails only in the event of frost warnings but I guess a year round daily email with…
Tea Drinker
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What is considered a "cool climate" for cool climate plants? Can these plants better survive temporary frost?

Is a "cool climate" one that doesn't freeze? Is it one that doesn't freeze until such-and-such a month? Or is it one where the temperature almost always stays above freezing? Related to this, would "cool climate" plants have a resistance to…
Peach
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What is the best time and method for planting cauliflowers / broccoli in a southern US climate with frosts?

Inspired by the various brassicas questions, I was thinking of trying to grow some. Choosing something that I would eat, I'm thinking of either broccoli and/or cauliflower. From what I have been able to read about growing them in a N.Texas climate,…
winwaed
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Is an olive tree frost resistant?

Is an olive tree frost resistant? I have a small olive tree planted in a flower pot. There are small flies that put their larvae into the soil. Usually they are gone when the flower is outside for several days, but it's currently getting colder…
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How to safely keep plants in greenhouse at low temperatures

I'm a 2nd year gardener and am just now building a small 6x9' greenhouse onto the side of a shed. I've got some indoor starts that are beginning to take up a lot of space (my okra is ~9" tall!), and I'm anxious to start using the greenhouse. But I…
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Is it safe to use vegetables which have experienced several frosts?

Most people are aware that once you've had foods out of the freezer and allowed them to thaw, you shouldn't put them back in your freezer. But what about frost hardy plants like leeks? I've just harvested some old onions, leeks and carrots and who…
Tea Drinker
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How should I protect a buried fountain reservoir from freezing?

I have a buried fountain reservoir that cannot easily be protected from rainwater. It soon fills and at some point this winter will freeze over. Is there anything I can put in it that will prevent it from getting damaged? Something that would…
David Sykes
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What sort of hose nozzle should I look for such that it won't spring a leak after just one frosty night?

I bought a hose nozzle that looked robust (though made mainly of plastic) last year and let it sit out over the winter (temperatures get down to -30 ºC). This spring, naturally, the nozzle was leaking from all its seams. I bought another one of…
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How can I save Yew bush branches severely bent by snow and ice?

It's been snowing on these Yew bushes for the past three months of this harsh Massachusetts winter. With regular gentle cleaning, they've been doing fine. After last week's snow it warmed up a bit, and the snow began to melt, so we left them alone.…
Sue Saddest Farewell TGO GL
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Can I save frost damaged tomatoes?

We had an unusually late frost after we had already transplanted our tomato starts outside this year. I covered the plants with canvas drop-cloths over the tomato trellises, but all the leaves and the top of the stems ended up dying. However, the…
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Does spraying water on fruit trees after a frost help?

I have about 12 fruit trees (one pear, three peach and the rest are apple). We had an early warm spell which kicked the trees into high gear and they started to blossom. Unfortunately, we had 2 nights this week when the temperature got down to…
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How long after last frost before lawns need mowing?

A subset of the title question is: What temperature do lawns consider a frost? 32F? 30? 28? By "consider a frost" I mean get knocked back or prevented from growing. So if lawns frost at 32F, then how long do temperatures need to be >32F for the lawn…
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What factors could cause a young oak tree to leaf out late?

I have a young oak tree (ETA: It is a White Oak) that has been in its current location for 7 or 8 years. This year it is very late leafing out. In fact, it has only just started getting leaves in the past week. All of the other trees in the…
michelle
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How Far Back To Prune Frost-Damaged Gardenias?

I have 4 formerly great-looking gardenia bushes in my yard, but this past winter has been brutal on them (I live in the DC area, where it was still snowing as of yesterday). The plants are still alive, but in terrible shape. I understand (from…
anschauung
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