Frosty starts kill off plants
Before you become a gardener, frost is just a chilly inconvenience that you have to scrape off your windscreen.
When you've invested time and money in plants, it become a raging serial killer.
Beginner gardeners are bombarded with lots of terminology, including 'tender', 'hardy' and 'half-hardy.'
The important ones (generally) to understand are hardy and tender.
A tender plant means when the temperature drops, the plant will probably die unless given protection (either by being brought indoors or covered).
A hardy plant will usually be able to withstand cold up to a certain temperature.
And then there are some perennials which look as though they've died at this time of year, only to re-emerge in spring.
In a hardy plant, when plant tissues are first exposed to freezing temperatures, ice crystals physically form outside the cell membranes.
The crystals grow larger as they pull water from the plant.
When temperatures warm back up, these crystals melt and release water back into the cells.
This action re-hydrates the plant so it can resume metabolism.
In frost-sensitive plants, the water does not enter back into the system, and the plant dies.
Strong sun after a frost can also kill foliage by effectively 'burning' the tissues.
There are some things that can be done to prevent damage by light frosts.
Water holds heat more effectively than land, as does darker bare soil.
So, moist, firm and bare soils will absorb more heat in the day and lose heat more slowly overnight than dry loose and weed covered soils.
If cold air drainage is obstructed by a barrier, such as a hedge, removing this can help prevent frost.
On the other side of the coin, building a barrier to prevent drainage of cold air into a hollow can also help, as can planting less sensitive or taller plants in more prone areas.
The level of winter protection required depends on where you live and how exposed your garden is.
In sheltered city gardens, you may get away with not protecting tender plants at all.
For general protection of your garden apply a layer of bark compost or mulch 5cm (2in) deep around herbaceous perennials but use grit around the plants themselves. You can also use horticultural fleece, bought on a roll, which can quickly be used to cover vulnerable plants.
Also, as you cover your plants, take cuttings as you go.
This will be your insurance policy, in case they don't survive.
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Weather for Northampton
Friday 10 February 2012
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Temperature: -6 C to 1 C
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