East Coast Freeze Warning

Because of the cold weather forecast this weekend for much of the East Coast, we are being inundated with calls about plant protection.

The flowers on some plants are going to freeze. Our early spring will not be as beautiful as it otherwise would have been. The flowers on crocus, cherries and magnolias will almost certainly be lost. So if you want to enjoy them I suggest cutting your most beautiful spring flowers, especially the tree branches, and bringing them indoors. The open daffodil flowers should be fine; although some might suffer damage right at ground level and fall over. These that do can be cut and brought indoors next week.

I doubt that there will be any permanent damage to most established plants because temperatures have been so cold in February and March, plants are less advanced than usual at this time. There may be some burn off of new growth. But even if the temperature drops to 20 degrees, the plants will quickly regenerate. Two plants are of particular concern: peonies whose foliage has started to emerge and Japanese Red Maples if their foliage has started to unfurl. These plants do not regenerate easily and should be protected. Additionally you need to protect plants with new growth that have been planted this spring. These often were grown in greenhouses or farther south. This new foliage needs to be protected and these plants may be so far advanced that they may perish if left unprotected. Newly planted truly dormant bare root roses should not require protection. However newly planted roses (and other "dormant" bareroot shrubs) with tender white or light green shoots require protection.

The best way to protect plants is to cover them with an old bed blanket or other heavy cloth held up with stakes and secured to the ground with rocks. Do not use plastic. Clear plastic can be particularly harmful. In some cases it may be easier to dig up a few container grown plants and temporarily move them into the garage, shed or basement.

Garden Club Questions and Answers

Answer: Wild violets are difficult, but not impossible, to kill in the lawn. The most common lawn weed killers do not control violets. Several applications, sometimes over a period of up to two years, may be required. Most important is timing, using the correct product and persistence. If you follow label directions, there should be no harm to the lawn. Spray the violets in early spring as soon as they make new leaves with Speed Zone. This tender new growth is especially receptive to spray. (Keeping the violets well-fertilized throughout the spray program will encourage tender new growth.) In four weeks, spray with Turflon Ester. In another four weeks spray again with Turflon Ester. The timing of your three sprays will probably be very early April, very early May and very early June. Do not spray in the summer. If any stragglers persist, or new violets sprout from seeds left in the soil, spray with either product in September. If necessary, repeat the spring regimen next year. Be sure to be thorough. If necessary, remove any remaining violets by hand; just a few violets can make enough seedlings to repopulate quite a large area.

Answer: Speed Zone will kill wild onions in the lawn. It may take several applications, four weeks apart. In the gardens, you can dig wild onions successfully (including the baby bulbs that tend to fall off at other times of the year) if you do so in early spring when the soil is still soft and the onions have not rooted in deeply. Onions can also be controlled in garden beds with Remuda, but you must apply it carefully. Remuda is a total vegetation killer. It will kill any plant on which Remuda gets on the leaves. Applying Remuda with a paint brush or a sponge on a handle allows more control than spraying.