You can see the frost really clearly on the hood of our daughter's Jeep.
Today's date is right in the middle of the range in which we should expect our first frost. For Fredericksburg, which is south of here by about 15 minutes, the average date is October 25. For Culpeper and Warrenton, our closest neighbors to the north and west, the date is October 8.
The temperature didn't stay cold enough for long enough to do damage to the more tender plants in the garden. That's a good thing, because I totally forgot to bring in my potted plants that have been spending the summer outdoors. I will consider this to be a gentle reminder to make time during the coming week to clear space for them to live till spring.
We had frost here too!
ReplyDeleteMy climbing yellow rose bush had just starting having a lot of blooms the last couple of weeks and now this.
:(
That was supposed to be our coldest night and next week the low's will only be in the 40's at night.
I could Google this question but I'd rather ask the expert.
Do I wrap the climbing roses with burlap or something?
Or do I cut them down to the ground?
I hate to think I need to cut them down but I didn't cut my butterfly bush last year and it died.
Thanks!
:)
xoxo
Climbing roses are a mixed bag, and there's no one-size-fits-all answer. I don't think I have ever advised anyone to cut a climbing rose to the ground. The idea with them is to keep as much length on the canes as you can, so they continue to cover whatever structure they grow on, and do what is necessary to help the long canes survive the winter. Here, I don't do any sort of winter protection. For you (if your temps are colder and winter is longer/harder than mine) you may want to. Is this rose one that you have had for a while, or is it new this year? Is it in a spot where it is subject to harsh winter winds? (Lots of questions, I know.)
DeleteWrapping the canes and adding some extra cover/mulch to the base of the plant is probably a good idea. Beyond that, I'm going to suggest that you contact your closest local rose society and ask one of their consulting rosarians. There's no charge for this, and it's good to get advice from folks nearby when it comes to gardening dilemmas.
Thank you, Thank you!
DeleteI will be wrapping and mulching!
xoxo
I meant to say, coldest night THIS week.
ReplyDeleteAfter that...Brrrrrrr.
Oh, I can't believe it! It's still so warm here. I hope you're feeling good after your surgery.
ReplyDeleteI feel very well ... thank you. Still a little bit of dizziness left, but great otherwise.
DeleteNo frost here, we still have the AC on.
ReplyDeleteMy husband was on a business trip to southern California for part of last week. It was in the 90s there, while we were in the 60s.
DeleteWe had our first frost this morning...and I'm NOT ready! :)
ReplyDeletexo Kat
Brrr....we're a few weeks out (I hope) from frost.
ReplyDeleteYou are well ahead of us. Still quite hot around here :-(
ReplyDeleteAmalia
xo