Cold Temperatures This Week Could Reduce Early Color

Low temperatures of 27 degrees Thursday morning and 25 degrees Friday morning could be deadly for some flower and tree blooms.

“There is a potential for any kind of blooming flowers, blooming trees, shrubs, ornamentals that have tender blooms on them to be damaged or some possible kill at those temperatures,” Putnam County Agricultural Extension Agent Wayne Key said.

Key said wind and/or cloud cover on either night could limit the damage, acting as a sort of blanket. The current forecast calls for mostly cloudy skies Wednesday night and light winds both nights.

Homeowners can protect plants, according to Key, by covering blooming plants with sheets or lightweight towels. Key said you should be sure to remove the protection early in the morning so the sun does not bake the plants.

Key said forsythia, ornamentals, flowering cherry and apples ornamentals are leading the way in adding color. The landscape has bloomed rapidly in the last seven to ten days thanks to warm temperatures and plenty of rain.

“We’ve had a ton of moisture so those roots are certainly saturated so they’ve got plenty of moisture very deep in the soil,” Key said. “It’s really caused a bloom up in the landscape.”

Many lawns have begun growing to the point that some people are already mowing. Key said the cool-weather glasses, such as fescue, will not be damaged by this week’s cold snap. He said the warm-weather grasses including bermuda remain dormant.

This week’s hours below freezing overnight and, maybe, a few snowflakes may not be the end of the risks for the lawn and garden. Despite this quick bloom this year, Key said the last average frost across the Upper Cumberland happens around April 25th. It has been recorded as late as May 5-10.

“We’ve still got seven to eight weeks of cool weather and possible damaging frost overnights,” Key said. “That’s the negative side to a beautiful spring early warmup.”