Late Freeze

Life in Christian County, Kentucky... More About Trees and Plants...

An image from our walk tonight

Isaac and I walked after supper tonight, and the sun was setting by the time we got home. Along the way, we could hear the wind in the treetops and feel it cold against our faces. It's going to freeze tonight. The overnight temperatures are supposed to be in the 20's for the next four nights.

The freezing temperatures will be hard on the trees. Some are blooming (the oaks and others) and if those blossoms are killed by a hard frost, that means they won't have their fruit this year -- acorns or elm seeds or maple seeds or whatever. That would make it hard for the birds and animals that depend on those foods.

Some of the trees have already put on their leaves. The tender little leaves may be frozen, and if so, they'll probably die and drop off, and the trees will have to start again.

We had a similar spring six or seven years ago with a late freeze that killed back the leaves. I remember that all the new little leaves on the privet bushes in the yard dried up and fell off.

It's a shame, but it's a fairly minor natural disaster compared to tornadoes and 30-foot tsunamis.

UPDATE:

On my tree blog, I've posted some links to recent articles about caring for freeze-damaged trees and shrubs.

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