Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
General Subjects => General Forum => Topic started by: mark smyth on December 27, 2009, 11:27:51 AM
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Today is the first I have got in to my green house since the hard frost arrived. When the frost came earlier this week it was colder than expected and too late to put fleece on plants. A couple of days later we had a quick thaw followed by another hard frost and snow. The doors of the green house have been stuck closed. This morning I went out to look at the damage to plants.
Crocus - buds OK but open flowers wilted
Nerine sarniensis - many leaves wilted and some badly frosted
Pelargoniums - frost damage as expected
Hypoxis hirsuta - all leaves badly frosted
all non hardy plants dead
Terracotta pots broken
The last time I had plants die was new years eve 1999/2000
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Mark,would you not put a little fan heater in the greenhouse set at 0c to keep the frost out, it would be cheaper than the cost of replacing the the plants you have lost.?
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I actually have heated plunges but didnt think I could turn the heat on when the pot contents were frozen
My Daphne bought as Jacqueline Postill but possible Gurkha was almost in fill bloom prior to the frost. All the flowers are now brown.
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Today is the first I have got in to my green house since the hard frost arrived. When the frost came earlier this week it was colder than expected and too late to put fleece on plants. A couple of days later we had a quick thaw followed by another hard frost and snow. The doors of the green house have been stuck closed. This morning I went out to look at the damage to plants.
Crocus - buds OK but open flowers wilted
Nerine sarniensis - many leaves wilted and some badly frosted
Pelargoniums - frost damage as expected
Hypoxis hirsuta - all leaves badly frosted
all non hardy plants dead
Terracotta pots broken
The last time I had plants die was new years eve 1999/2000
Mark - How awful. Did your heating fail or was the heater just not up to the task?
I can help you out with Nerines but you had so many irreplaceable ones.
johnw
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It wasnt turned on ::) because I thought plants would thaw too quickly
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Mark - I have a propane furnace. My fear is that some day it will fail so I had an electrical company make a gadget for me. It is a huge heavy duty plug that is connected to a thermostat which in turn is connected to two plugins. I have plugged a small ceramic heater into it with the thermo set at +3c and the heater set on full blast; the propane furnace thermo is set at 4c. It cost $175 for the gadget.
My alarm company says they can install a remote sensor for 1c just in case there is a total failure. Cost $150. If it trips they will call us on our cell phones.
BTW - This gadget was needed as cheap ceramic and other electrical heaters have no temperature settings, they have high to low.
johnw
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I was caught out by the first hard freeze and it's been a long time since N Ireland has had so much snow. I see on the weather forecast more his due mid week
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Mark,I would have been delighted with some snow cover, we never go as much as one flake of snow while the rest of the country was under a thick blanket. Lots of plants in the garden very black and dead looking.
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I found out that Scilla aristides doesn't like -9C on the leaves, but the flowerbuds still look fine. Scilla messeniaca in the garden looked like boiled cabbage, but seems to have recovered now.
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Cannot tell you about frost damage, haven't seen the garden since the snow fell and still no thaw. Imagine, vain hope' that the snow will protect many plants.
Brian Wilson
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Mark sorry to hear about your plants.
I left out some mature alpine plants in terracotta next to my greenhouse I hadn't noticed but water had been dripping from the gutter onto the pots and they were raised out of there pots about a inch and they have another inch of frost on top of them I have removed them and put them into my polytunnel to defrost I do hope I haven't killed them.
I cant remember seeing so much ice on the ground like we have here.
Roll on spring.
Angie :)
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John,
You can get similar "plug in" type instruments that activate a standard powerpoint when it gets to a certain temperature. I have one here that I used to have in an old glasshouse. It plugged into a normal wall plus socket, turning it into a temperature control. If the temp got above 30'C (which was what I set it to) the power would come through it and the fan would turn on..... otherwise the power was off. It is a small control box that sits on any power point, with a metal cord and sensor that can be placed up to 2m from the powerpoint itself. No installation needed, just plugged straight in. These should be available elsewhere I would imagine. When my sister sold that place I unplugged it and brought it with me in case I ever need it again, and I am thinking of running an extension cord out to my covered shadehouse just to be able to install this fan to try and cool it down a bit in summer. So simple and easy and moveable anywhere it is needed.
Does everyone understand my explanation of how it works? If not, I'll try to explain it further. 8)
I'm only mentioning this so if others are thinking of something like this they can look around and see whether they are available. I would imagine that there are minimum temperature versions of this as well, instead of maximum temperature like mine. I bought mine from a hydroponics shop as that was where I came across it. I would imagine that larger or specialist hardware stores overseas might standardly stock them, but ours here don't have as wide a range of things for glasshouses etc.
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John,
You can get similar "plug in" type instruments that activate a standard powerpoint when it gets to a certain temperature. I have one here that I used to have in an old glasshouse. It plugged into a normal wall plus socket, turning it into a temperature control. If the temp got above 30'C (which was what I set it to) the power would come through it and the fan would turn on..... otherwise the power was off. It is a small control box that sits on any power point, with a metal cord and sensor that can be placed up to 2m from the powerpoint itself. No installation needed, just plugged straight in. These should be available elsewhere I would imagine. When my sister sold that place I unplugged it and brought it with me in case I ever need it again, and I am thinking of running an extension cord out to my covered shadehouse just to be able to install this fan to try and cool it down a bit in summer. So simple and easy and moveable anywhere it is needed.
Does everyone understand my explanation of how it works? If not, I'll try to explain it further. 8)
I'm only mentioning this so if others are thinking of something like this they can look around and see whether they are available. I would imagine that there are minimum temperature versions of this as well, instead of maximum temperature like mine. I bought mine from a hydroponics shop as that was where I came across it. I would imagine that larger or specialist hardware stores overseas might standardly stock them, but ours here don't have as wide a range of things for glasshouses etc.
Paul - They are available here but none are capable of going much below 10c it seems. The one I had made can also be used to turn fans on at 20c or higher.
I had the same problem finding a thermostat for the propane furnace when it was installed. I finally found a Honeywell that goes as low as 5c, the others stopped at 10c. In those days the digital ones I was told didn't handle humidity well.
johnw
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Paul - They are available here but none are capable of going much below 10c it seems. The one I had made can also be used to turn fans on at 20c or higher.
I had the same problem finding a thermostat for the propane furnace when it was installed. I finally found a Honeywell that goes as low as 5c, the others stopped at 10c. In those days the digital ones I was told didn't handle humidity well.
johnw
i've thought of the idea of a greenhouse heated only when its below -10C or even -20C..i can just imagine the looks i'd get looking for a thermostat for that...lol
i guess i'd just have to have a small heater that i turn on when its really cold...lol
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John,
Fair enough too. I have only had experience with the heat sensors, not cold sensors. I used to have an oil column heater (but it was a single flat pane, rather than a bunch of parallel slats) that kept my old glasshouse above freezing (mostly). Not quite having to cope with the same sort of cold as yours would be, but then again my glasshouse thing wasn't terribly well insulated either. ;D
Yours is far more precise, which makes sense to go the made to order route. My battle is keeping the covered house from getting too far over 40'C, or nearly 40'C in winter (Yes, it has been very warm in winter, even with the door open etc..... we can get lovely sunny days in winter, then frosts overnight).
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Could one adapt a control from an old fridge or freezer?
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Could one adapt a control from an old fridge or freezer?
interesting thought.... i'd have to ask someone more mechanical than i....
the irony of course that my lofty aim is to upgrade to z 5 or 6--far below what most of the forum members experience....lol
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Could one adapt a control from an old fridge or freezer?
If it's possible the BD will have done it ;D
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All this erudite talk of fridges and temp settings reminds me of the Christmas we moved into an unheated house temporarily and the milk left in a bottle on the kitchen table froze solid but the same stuff in the fridge was still liquid. My experience in the unheated green house is that plants survive low temps better if their roots are on the dry side. It will be interesting to see how my precious Heucheras react to being under 12" of snow this last week and more to follow.
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I think it is safe to say that the Heucheras will be "Flat but happy" ;)
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This one goes down to 0oC: http://www.discountgb.co.uk/et05-plug-in-thermostat-tubular-heater-heating-control-747-p.asp
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This one goes down to 0oC: http://www.discountgb.co.uk/et05-plug-in-thermostat-tubular-heater-heating-control-747-p.asp
Anthony - The note on the bottom of the link says up to 300W of lighting. I wonder why. The electrician here told me heaters (mine is 1200w) had to be hard-wired and I could not use such a device. May be it is an insurance issue.
Would be great for other pruposes like a vent opener etc. Those wax filled openers seem to have disappeared.
johnw
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Those wax filled openers seem to have disappeared.
Lee Valley Tools sells a heat-activated window opener that has
a gas-filled cylinder that will open and close a 15 lb window.
You can control the operating range. Made in England.
http://www.leevalley.com/garden/page.aspx?c=1&cat=2,43224,10543&p=10543
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Quote from: Diane Whitehead on December 28, 2009, 07:37:14 AM
Could one adapt a control from an old fridge or freezer?
If it's possible the BD will have done it Grin
Well now you come to mention it David I do and I have.
Freezer controls are even better as they give a lower range. You have to make sure that the thermostat from the fridge has an extra contact that is not used. As it is set up for a fridge/freezer the thermostat switches off when it gets sub zero we require it to switch on and that extra contact usually connects to the other side of the contacts so it can also be used to come on when the temperature falls below zero.
My favourite source of thermostats is old air conditioning units they are much better and more accurate. I show one in this weeks Bulb Log. They have a sensor connected by a length of thin copper tube so the sensor end can be placed in the plunge. You can also adjust the differential so it comes on when the temperature drops to zero and it cuts out if it reaches say 2C.
One big warning - if you do not know what you are doing do not attempt to wire and install these your self or you might get a shock that is worse than a bill from an electrician. :'(
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Those wax filled openers seem to have disappeared.
Lee Valley Tools sells a heat-activated window opener that has
a gas-filled cylinder that will open and close a 15 lb window.
You can control the operating range. Made in England.
http://www.leevalley.com/garden/page.aspx?c=1&cat=2,43224,10543&p=10543
Diane - Our commercial divsion sold these but they had so many returns they dropped them. Have you tried them? I like one for the door too as just a crack would do in the early spring when the unpredictable sun makes a rare and untimely appearance when I'm at work.
I wonder how long the wax ones last. Somewhere I have one, but where is the question ... and a mist control called the Aquimonitor which was a very clever device.
johnw
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One big warning - if you do not know what you are doing do not attempt to wire and install these your self or you might get a shock that is worse than a bill from an electrician. :'(
And the British electrics look far scarier than the ones here.
I suspect my electrician sensed my abilities in this department.
johnw
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There you go, I told you if it was possible the BD would have done it. He's the world's best recycler ;D
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This one goes down to 0oC: http://www.discountgb.co.uk/et05-plug-in-thermostat-tubular-heater-heating-control-747-p.asp
Anthony - The note on the bottom of the link says up to 300W of lighting. I wonder why. The electrician here told me heaters (mine is 1200w) had to be hard-wired and I could not use such a device. May be it is an insurance issue.
I despair. I thought thermostats were for heaters not lights! ::) Most appliances aren't fit for purpose anyway. Heidi's new expensive fleece lined coat has two zip pockets. The zips open when you pull them from front to back, or automatically when Heidi runs through the woods. Design fault or wot!? Perhaps if the zips opened from back to front.......? ::) Today we had to take her to a vet in Glasgow to have a wee biopsy on a small persistent spot on her heel. One stitch, 410 quid, a red bandage and a conical collar later and we were on our way home. A quick run round the garden for a pee this evening and crash, the collar splits as she bumps into something! It is now useless! Not fit for purpose! >:(
This one does 3kW but only down to 5oC http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Plug-In-HEATING-ONLY-Thermostat-With-Digital-Display_W0QQitemZ200402075761QQcategoryZ57215QQcmdZViewItem
Likewise this one, but to 0oC http://www.uk-automation.co.uk/plugin-thermostat-thermostat-switch-p-1377.html
BTW the ET05 can be used with 3kW heaters. It is with lighting that it becomes wierd.
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I borrowed a temperature probe today. If only I had it during the freeze. The temperature in the raised beds is 1.1c while in the pots in the greenhouse it's 2.5c
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Hmmm, should have brought them in but forgot some Calanthes and Bletillas. The foliage was mush but the tubers / roots look healthy, so no worries there.
Because of the snow and ice, I couldn't get to the nursery to turn on the gas heating, propane with a mechanical thermostat, kept at 2°C. This works well for my pleiones, which I shall start potting up next month.
In the greenhouse without heating I expected the cymbidiums, dendrobiums, Neofinetia falcata and others to have gone to mush too, but none of it. Protea, Pinguicula and Spiranthes sinensis were still in flower. Everything looked just fine, although the thermometer read -10°C Min and +30°C Max.
I really value my Min/Max thermometers, have them everywhere, windowsills, greenhouse, cold frames, garden etc. Of course, they don't tell us how long any of the temperatures in the measured range persisted, like a tachograph for long distance drivers. That would be really useful.
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Here is some pictures of my plants in pots that I left outside by mistake, the water was dripping from the gutter onto the pots. I don't know if the plants will survive this.
Angie :)
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Good luck!! I hope they all survive OK.
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Angie, take especial care of that wee rhodo! Let him thaw out gently and keep him dryer for the rest ofthe winter.
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Its easy to miss things.I left my Cyclamen rholfsianum (three plants) in the unheated greenouse last week.
One looks a little sad and may be dying slowly but the other two have dead leaves. it remains to be seen if they will recover from this premature dormancy next autumn, if they have not turned to mush before then. Hope lives on.
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Northern Ireland has had it's coldest winter in ten years :(
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Mark,we have had our coldest winter for over fifty years and no sign of a letup. -3°C all day with the sun shining.
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Angie - Is that a Rhododendron proteiodes in the first few shots? If so it should survive without a problem, it's tough as an old boot here. Maggi - as usual - is correct, run it drier for the rest of the winter. The one thing it hates is water-logging. Which species is the deciduous one in the last shot?
Best of luck to all over there experiencing such cold.
Here we are just starting to see the effects of a predicted "monster storm". We had about 13 cm of snow last night but has turned to sleet here. Promised wind tonight.
john
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Keep us posted on your "monster storm" John please. You know what happens to storms about 3/4 days after you have had them!
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Keep us posted on your "monster storm" John please. You know what happens to storms about 3/4 days after you have had them!
David - It's changed from sleet back to snow here and it's coming down fast. My grandmother called these big flakes goosefeathers; some goose. A big storm with a nasty wrap-around from east to west. Have a look:
http://www.weatheroffice.gc.ca/data/satellite/hrpt_emar_vis_100.jpg (http://www.weatheroffice.gc.ca/data/satellite/hrpt_emar_vis_100.jpg)
It can't help but get to you at some point, just look at the size of it and not just those clouds to the east of us. I hope it will push the cold out of the UK.
johnw
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Hi John, yes the little Rhodo is proteoides ascreavie and I am glad to hear that it is a tough as old boots, I have only had it for a year and would hate to lose it. The other plant is a gentian but I don't know what its name is , maybe if it survives its frozen lid I can post it and see if anyone can name it for me. I hope the storm passes by quick for you.
Maggie thanks for the advice.
Angie :)
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proteoides Ascreavie
Ah, that's a good one. 8)
johnw
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This weather is causing severe damage to my patience, my new alpine house is stuck in the garage waiting for the weather to alter so the builders can start work. They came last week and even the pick-axe bounced off the soil. Please pray for better weather I am.
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I have been praying for better weather for days ::) Good luck with your new alpine house it will be worth the wait, I waited 15 years for mine and my husband has his own construction business, but my jobs are always the last to be done.
It would be nice to see your alpine house when completed. By the way I am already praying for a nice early spring. ::) ::)
Angie :)
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My Mother has the same problem, but she learnt that if she tells Dad she will get someone else to do it or starts on it herself. Instant miracle Dad does the job straight away.
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I like that, will keep that in mind, clever lady your mum is ;)
Angie :)
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A bit off topic Paul. What make of greenhouse are you erecting, I may be in the market for alpine house no. 2 shortly.
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The greenhouse is a Robinsons Regent chosen mainly for the thickness of the aluminium.
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Thanks Paul, having just checked out the prices at my local retailer I might just sacrifice a bit of quality in favour of economy. My current alpine house is a Robinson 'popular'. A range they sadly no longer make which was about half the price of the next up in their range. It is now 18 years old and in it's second home having survived the move from East Kilbride to Derby...and any greenhouse that can withstand winter in an exposed location in East Kilbride will survive almost anywhere.
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A little bit of damage first Echium wildpretii, a bit ambitious outside in Yorkshire probably but I had a few extra from seed exchange seedlings to try outside. I've still got some in pots in the greenhouse.
Should have knocked the snow off the tree fern fronds, but they look OK just discoloured.
Are Delospermum etc hardy? Soon find out I suppose.
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A little bit of damage first Echium wildpretii, a bit ambitious outside in Yorkshire probably but I had a few extra from seed exchange seedlings to try outside. I've still got some in pots in the greenhouse.
Should have knocked the snow off the tree fern fronds, but they look OK just discoloured.
Are Delospermum etc hardy? Soon find out I suppose.
good luck with all of them, mick!
delos can indeed be hardy, wet can be a different issue!
check this thread:
http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=3795.0
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The greenhouse is a Robinsons Regent chosen mainly for the thickness of the aluminium.
I swear by Robinson's greenhouses (and sometimes inside mine).
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My Bird of Paradise (plant) is dead. My fault because I left it in the greenhouse - it has spent every winter out there. A large Cyrtanthus with green tipped orange flowers, or the other way round, is mush. Cyrtanthus montana is also badly affected by the frost.
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Sorry to hear of all these losses. I've a couple of frozen solid shallow troughs outside with common dutch crocus in which I'm not too optimistic about. The other potted bulbs are either indoors or plunged in a deep frame so fingers crossed. One of the fishbox troughs has a couple of dwarf narcissi in so perhaps they will struggle.
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Mark have you lost the roots and bulb on your cytanthus,i nearly got caught out myself forgot to turn on my heater when i went away to see my parents the pots were frozen but haven't lost anything not yet anyway crossfingers.
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As Susan Band said elsewhere on the Forum... it is too early to mourn losses as yet..... only time will tell if the seemingly dead bodies being reported now are quite unable to revive when the weather improves.... it is often amazing and heartening to see what can survive...... fingers crossed and chins up, chaps, it may not be as bad as it seems. It is always important to give plants, be they bulbs in pots or shrubs in the garden, a chance to regrow after even apparently devastating damage.
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Davy P the top growth is mush and the pot solid.
Could this be the year to wipe out our Rhodohypoxis? :'(
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I've a couple of frozen solid shallow troughs outside with common dutch crocus in which I'm not too optimistic about.
Plain old "dutch crocus" are completely hardy here where the ground freezes to several feet down without snow cover. I wouldn't worry.
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I've a couple of frozen solid shallow troughs outside with common dutch crocus in which I'm not too optimistic about.
Plain old "dutch crocus" are completely hardy here where the ground freezes to several feet down without snow cover. I wouldn't worry.
right now feels like we must be frozen to several metres down...lol--although there is plenty of snow cover this year ;)
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I'm hoping my frames full of snowdrop seedlings in pots are okay. They're covered with a double layer of bubble wrap, some netting to hold that in place, and an inch or two of snow. The pots aren't plunged, only sitting on a layer of old vermiculite and sand, so they're almost certain to be frozen solid, but hopefully not damaged. I'll take a look later and throw on some extra bubble wrap. Too late to bring them in now, and my lean-too is already filled with pots of more mature bulbs from seed and chipping.
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bubble v fleece?
My Nerines are frozen under fleece.
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My water pipes are frozen under two feet of soil. Only a thaw will relieve the situation and this is not forecast.
Paddy
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My Nerines are frozen under fleece.
Not a good sign. Will your heater not deal with the cold? Is it turned on?
johnw
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Paddy I to have no water as well, contacted the water board to let them know and they said it must be my pipes that are frozen when I informed them that my neighbours a 1/2 mile away were also without water they there attitude changed, I can manage without water but I do hope we keep the power my mum is oxygen 24/7 and that would be a worry.
Angie :)
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My water pipes are frozen under two feet of soil.
This happened to my parents once. No one else in the neighbourhood
had a problem. They found the problem was in their rock garden. One
of the rocks was touching the water pipe and conducting cold from the
cold air down to the pipe.
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I'm hoping my frames full of snowdrop seedlings in pots are okay. They're covered with a double layer of bubble wrap, some netting to hold that in place, and an inch or two of snow. The pots aren't plunged, only sitting on a layer of old vermiculite and sand, so they're almost certain to be frozen solid, but hopefully not damaged. I'll take a look later and throw on some extra bubble wrap. Too late to bring them in now, and my lean-too is already filled with pots of more mature bulbs from seed and chipping.
Martin - The potted snowdrops here freeze as solid as rock for 3 months and still come booming up in mid March. We always heel the pots into wood chips and top-dress with 1/2" of wood chips. Occasionally a missed pot will just get tossed in without plunging and they're fine. G. reginae-olgae might be touch & go but that may be more to do with our lack of heat.
Keep in mind we have the sort of weather you're having into late March, sometimes from November without letup.
johnw
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Yes, I'm pretty sure the seedlings will be okay. I just can't help worrying a little because they're my youngest seedlings, still tiny bulbs, and some of my latest and most interesting crosses, including last year's seed crop just starting to germinate - amongst them, a fair few crosses with Rosemary Burnham as the pollen parent :)
But even though I'm sure they'll be fine, I'll still find myself out there later throwing some more bubble wrap over the frames (Mark, I find bubble wrap much better than fleece for frost protection. I use it to cover frames, wrap tender shrubs and to just throw over plants in the open ground. This year, since I had flu when the freezing weather arrived, I didn't get out with the bubble wrap as much as I'd have liked to, so a lot of stuff is taking its chances - interesting to see what survives.
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Martin - Just a further note. We always cover the frames with opaque (white) plastic to keep any sun off the frames. The freeze-thaw / rapid temperature fluctuation cycle seem to be most injurious to frame plants in our protracted cold climate, I think the fluctuation is worse.
Close to the house there is one spot which has been frozen solid since mid Decemeber. The Galanthus nivalis are peaking up and the buds are tightly clasped between the leaves but you can see white, they showed in early December. They could stay snowless until the mid to late March thaw (if we don't have a typical January thaw fro a week or so) and yet the flowers always come through it all unscathed. Amazing isn't it?
Seeds of corcyrensis are just sprouting in the greeenhouse. No signs of nivalis seeds yet.
johnw - -1c at 10:45 pm
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I have heated plunges but dare I turn them on while pots are frozen solid?
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Mark,turn them on at 1°C and then increase by one or two degrees at the pots thaw out, should not do any harm.
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My water pipes are frozen under two feet of soil. Only a thaw will relieve the situation and this is not forecast.
I really sympathise Paddy. When our local road was resurfaced in 2008 the old water pipes were damaged so all last winter we and our neighbours had to rely on a temporary pipe that looped over a ditch & hedge. Of course this froze regularly and stayed that way for days. However by a weird stroke of luck the council people finally came the week before Christmas to replace the underground pipe.
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Got our water back on this morning, hope you have too Paddy.
Angie :)
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I'm so stoopid. The plunge with the Nerines has never had the cable installed. Too much manana.
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I'm so stoopid. The plunge with the Nerines has never had the cable installed. Too much manana.
Just as well you didn't turn it on then! ::)
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The thaw was welcome today but Nerine leaves are still flat
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Ouch, Mark. Would turning your other plunge on have helped heat the glasshouse anyway though, to keep the cold out a little?
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Mark that's sad pictures I do hope you wont lose your lovely plants.
Angie :)
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Pots in the green house are defrosted and the news is very bad. I think my entire Nerine sarniensis collection of about 30 pots is dead. The bulbs are mush. Only one person to blame
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Mark, 30 pots you have lost :o, you must be devastated, lets hope some of your good friends on the forum can help you out with some new plants.
I think I might have lost some plants that I had in my polytunnel, will just have to wait a wee while to see whats what.
Sorry Mark :(
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Maybe I'll not start with Nerines again. The sad thing is the double Nerine pudica is now just a photo
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Sorry to hear than Mark. It's very difficult to tell, at this stage, what I have lost.
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Maybe I'll not start with Nerines again. The sad thing is the double Nerine pudica is now just a photo
Maybe you can partially console yourself with the thought that the double may well have reverted to a single this year. Start again, though.
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Mark - If any bulbs have a bit of good material could you not twin scale before the rot spreads?
johnw
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I had an order for Sanguinaria and tried the soil in the field. It was totally unfrozen even although we have been below -3C for 3 weeks now, with it going as low as -14C. I just cleared the 1 ft of snow off the bed and then lifted about 1/2in slab of frozen soil. The soil underneath was dry and soft, better than sometimes in the summer. This gives hope to all the bulbs in the field I am sure they will be okay. The ones in the boxes will be a different matter I would think. It will be a long time before they defrost :( I am sure the soil was more frozen before the snow :-\
Susan
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Frost damage dead list.
Dietes grandiflora.
All the Watsonias. all foliage killed to ground level, Have not checked the corms yet.
All Ceanothus.
All 5 var of Abutilons.
all Sophora.
Amarcrinum howardii is black and very sick looking.
Timbouchina.
All South African Cape heaths.
There will obviously be more causalties,but I won't know until the spring flush of growth.
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To cold to stay out and have a proper look. Clear blue sky but a cutting and strong east wind. All Lachanalias looking pretty sick with top growth wiped out.
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Commiserations to all who have lost valued plants to the frost :'( Let's hope the Spring brings some recovery and all is not lost
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Frost damage dead list.
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Sorry to hear that Michael. I was very impressed at the fine tibouchina you showed us last year.
Here (~ 80-100 km SE of you) I've lost tibouchina and abutilons too, as well as most of my puyas, Beschorneria yuccoides, Banksia serrata, Boronia megastigma, Diosma ericoides, several Hydrangea spp., severall Leptospermum spp. except grandiflorum and probably all my colony of Myosotidium hortensia. However Wollemia nobilis is perfect & Agathis australis looks okay too (although the brownish young foliage may hide frost damage). The few watsonias at a south wall should pull through but a big patch of Dianella tasmanica looks fairly shook. Under shelter of trees Dicksonia australis is usually evergreen here & took a hit too but should recover.
Yes spring will be interesting ...
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I'm trying not to think about how many plants may be lost forever after this winter.... one which I do know has gone is Gethyum atropurpureum.... a kind gift from a fellow Forumist. We were keeping it in the cosy spot over last season but it was left there in error over the winter wehn the summer warm spot becomes the winter cold spot with no undercable to portect from frost.... Grrrrr!! >:( :'( I'm furious, i know it's my own fault for not moving it... now it's dead, mush, gone... I'm very annoyed with myself.
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Maggi ;)
Dont worry !
I will send you again bulbs of Gethyum when I repot my plant 8)
Hans
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Maggi ;)
Dont worry !
I will send you again bulbs of Gethyum when I repot my plant 8)
Hans
Hans, you are too kind.... but I don't deserve t it... I am a bad mother to these babies.
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Maggi
I have a good motto on my desk ( sorry only in german ) from M.Massara
"Habt Spaß dabei Eure Pflanzen zu kultivieren und vor allem keine Angst vor Experimenten denn bedenkt :
Ein Mensch der noch niemals eine pflanze verloren hat ist entweder ein Magier oder ein großartiger Lügner!"
Could you please translate it ?
Hans
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Have fun growing your plants and especially don't be afraid to experiment.... a person who has never lost a plant is either a magician or a dreadful liar!
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Do you agree Maggi ?
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Hans, I agree with the first part..... and the last part..... but I'm not so sure about the experiments.... I think one experiment in killing those poor bulbs is enough! :-[
This is why I think it is better to grow from seed.... then I feel the plant has more choice!! ;D :D