Brr! Coldest night in 14 years
This water lily leaf, frozen under a half-inch of ice, its cheeks rosy with the cold, seems to be saying, “I heart the cold.” Do I? While this cold snap is certainly keeping things interesting for Austin gardeners and I hope it will kill off a few million mosquitoes, I have to admit I’m over it. This has been the coldest Austin winter I can remember, and tonight’s predicted low of 18F (-7.7C) may be the coldest night in 14 years.
A balmy, sit-outside winter has always been one of my favorite things about Austin. This papyrus stem frozen in the icy pond shows that sitting outdoors would not be very comfortable right now.
Still, it is a novelty for us to see water in its solid state, unless of course it’s in a margarita.
So how are the tender plants in my garden faring after last night dipped well below freezing? (It was 22 degrees when I checked the thermometer early this morning.) Not so hot, so to speak. I covered this variegated Agave desmettiana the last two nights, but it’s a goner. I knew it was cold-tender when I planted it but took the chance anyway. Last year, it was fine. Them’s the breaks.
My new Aloe ciliaris, given to me by Jeff Pavlat, was also covered, with the same dismal result. One branch is still green. Maybe it’ll pull through. By some miracle.
The Mexican weeping bamboo (Otatea acuminata subsp. aztecorum), my former pride and joy, continues to show its unhappiness with the hard freezes we’ve had.
A new hope! I spotted green leaves at the base of the stricken culms and promptly threw a heavy blanket over them (after taking a picture, of course). Maybe Otatea will live to see another summer.
The cold-tender Mexican honeysuckle bush (Justicia spicigera) suffered leaf burn, but I believe this will survive, even if the entire plant dies back.
Native spiderwort (Tradescantia occidentalis), in front of the unbothered blue nolina (Nolina nelsonii), looks limp and flattened. But these are tough as nails, and I think they’ll perk back up with warmer weather and be ready to bloom in early spring.
Likewise, the gopher plant (Euphorbia rigida) has collapsed in distress. It’s marginally hardy here, and I hope the stone will keep it alive. But tonight’s low may be too much for it. If you hear a loud teeth-gnashing sound tomorrow, that’ll be me bemoaning the loss of several of these, which I just bought this fall.
I don’t know whether the dwarf papyrus (Cyperus papyrus ‘Nanus’) in the pond will come back next year after these deep freezes. But I do know that I’ve enjoyed it in every season so far, including this one, and I’ll definitely be growing it again.
Gardening is not for sissies. You live and learn and decide which risks to take. Sometimes you win, and sometimes your plant dies. Worst case? You get to try something new.
Tomorrow I’ll show you some plants that are handling our below-normal winter with style. Some of them may surprise you.
Update 1/9, 8 am: It got down to at least 15F (-9.4C) last night, as that’s the current temperature.
All material © 2006-2010 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
Oh Dear! I do hope they will revive with the warmer weather. Gee we are only 12 degrees here tonight… 18 is too cold for Texas! It might make you feel better to know that we will be 2 tomorrow night. Hope it warms up soon for you all!
These temps are probably not at all unusual for the Panhandle of Texas. But they’re pretty cold for Austin. —Pam
I hope your garden survives the cold temperatures and the mosquitoes don’t. We have only gotten to 20 which is not an unusual low for us, but what is unusual is that it is happening night after relentless night. At least we are getting above freezing during the day.
So are we (just barely yesterday), which does help. —Pam
Hi Pam.
Brrr! Cold it is indeed in Austin (Yoda undertones)! This will separate the men from the boys for sure.
My pond has not frozen over as yet I guess due to the pump, – how are your fish handling these alien conditions?
My dwarf papyrus has also browned, just like its big Nile brother, both should arise again in the spring I think. Having its feet wet ironically takes the edge off the frozen temperatures. I watered like a mad-man before this front came in on most of my more tender plants, still there will be casualties. It looks like you still have some green on the culms of your weeping bamboo, a very good sign that only the foliage has been zapped, and the new growth only confirms that underground it is hanging on in there! Houston…confidence is high…I repeat confi etc.etc.
It also looks like you have new growth arising on your gophers. I whacked last years growth back recently to direct energy back into the plant and new growth. I will be really surprised if it does not make it also.
Right there with you on the bug killing front!
The freezes are good for something at least.
ESP
I’m glad you feel hopeful about the gopher plants. Mine were standing up nicely until yesterday, and now they’re all floppy and unhappy. I managed to prune them back too late last year and lost the bloom (or maybe they didn’t like being moved from the old garden), so I haven’t pruned them this year. As for the fish, who knows? When it gets above freezing today I will break up the ice and let them get another gulp of air. I expect they’re in semi-hibernation mode at the bottom. —Pam
As cold as here! I’m sad for your plants and hope it warms up for you soon. Get out the electric blanket and snuggle down.
We don’t even own an electric blanket, Layanee. Never thought I’d need one here! —Pam
Pam, the good news is that the roots of that Papyrus are obviously at least 33F right now…the bad news is how sad your Mexican Weeping Bamboo looks! Bamboo is such a survivor, though, I hope to see it on your blog next spring taking off once again.
Me too, Robin. Me too. Fingers crossed. —Pam
Ouch, looks like you were hard hit.Especially the babies you had just planted. I’m looking forward to seeing the pictures of what has survived undaunted in your garden.I haven’t been able to take stock yet of the damage here. I had just finished cutting back and mulching last week all sorts of things that were taken down by our freeze in early Dec. It wasn’t until a few weeks after the freeze that I saw all the things that had been damaged.We probably won’t know for sure what will emerge from their roots until this spring.Time will tell,fingers crossed.
Yes, it’s really too early to tell. Sometimes it takes a while for the damage to show up. Nevertheless, I will be posting later today about the plants that seem to be handling the extreme cold in stride. —Pam
Really persistent cold here, too…only last winter was milder, as all since 2003 have been unusually steady in cold. It hit 6F a month ago, but 15F this morning, and prob high teens tomorrow AM…yet std Rosmarinus officianalis flowering along a nearby streetscape…it must know a milder pattern is on the way! (sounds good, at least)
That does sound promising, David. Your temps are cold too though. Do you at least warm up during the day, as we do? It’s rare for us to stay below freezing all day long. —Pam
Gardening is NOT for sissies! But TX is not for 22 degrees either. Wow. So sorry about your newly purchased plants and your aloe gift. We always look forward to winter in Florida, too. But when the weather surprises us we scramble around to try to fool mother nature guessing which plants need the blankets most.
Meems
You know exactly where we’re coming from, Meems—only I expect that Floridians are even more surprised by cold than we are. Do you have frozen iguanas falling out of the trees where you live? I saw it on the news, poor things. —Pam
Margaritas are the only way I like to see water in the frozen state too Pam. 🙂
I think I’m really a southerner at heart. I feel your pain but at least here, it’s expected. I would be super unhappy if I lived there (to get out of the cold) and still it followed. Not that it’s any consolation, but we’ve had a very cold winter as well. I hope it warms up for all of us soon and you don’t lose too many precious plants. I like your attitude tho ~ of getting to try new ones.
Yes, everyone is getting hit with a blast of winter right now. I hope you stay warm too, Kathleen. —Pam
Hello Pam,
I am sorry for the extreme cold weather, but I have to admit, it is interesting to see how many of the plants are handling the cold. I am looking forward to seeing your next post to see what plants are handling the cold weather well.
Gardening is a grand experiment, isn’t it? I’m curious to know what will make it too, though I suspect we won’t know the full extent of the damage until spring. —Pam
It is a risk we take when planting desirables that are marginally hardy to our area, but it always makes me sad to see prized plants succumb to unusually cold temperatures. Agave desmettiana is one of my favorites. I suppose for us in northern climates, who long to enjoy such plants in our gardens, but resort to growing them in pots, there is an upside – avoiding unpredictable weather! I hope the destruction isn’t too bad, Pam.
Thanks, Liisa. Me too! I brought in a few things, but I didn’t dig anything up out of the ground. The bigger plants just had to take their chances. —Pam
Well Houston isn’t doing much better, Pam. We are due for two more nights of 28 or lower. That’s the problem, really. Repeated nights of hard freeze.
Many of my plants in the ground were a little overgrown so if the roots survive I’ll be happy. I notice you put down some hay also. I wasn’t sure it would work, but I used leaves and hay. We’ll see. I’ll be interested to see what you find when it warms up again. Maybe better news than you think!
That’s not hay, Chrisf, but the fallen leaves from my distressed bamboo. Sad, isn’t it? However, I did tuck fallen leaves around my newer plants in hopes of insulating them a bit. —Pam
Brrr makes me cold seeing all that ice. The lily leaf is so pretty encased in ice. Everything in my garden is now under snow. It is a good thing since it is so darned cold. Pass the frozen margaritas please.
Yes, snow would be better than dry cold like we’re having. Plus it would be such a fun novelty for us. Where’s the snow when you need it? —Pam
Oh Pam, your poor plants! I hope the losses, if any, are minute. 18 is the low here tonight as well, is this a doomsday scenario? Sometimes we just don’t know what to plant, except those natives. Or should it be ?
Frances
Is that really low for you in Tennessee, Frances? We’re setting record lows in Austin. However, doomsday seems to me to involve record-breaking heat and drought, like last summer. That was really the pits. —Pam
Wow! Now, 18 is a fairly normal overnight low in Michigan (today’s high is to be 21) — yeah, whatever!! — but our plants are used to it, going dormant in fall to get through months of frozen soil. But that seems really, really cold for Texas, esp. since your plants must not shut down the way ours do. I do hope some of your plants will rally and come back for you.
Thanks, Monica. You hit on the problem exactly. Our plants in central Texas were green and actively growing right up until that first unexpectedly hard freeze hit in December. Temps return to the 70s and 80s throughout our winters, so plants don’t shut down like yours to accommodate the cold. —Pam
Pam, all of those succulents seemed like a great idea when it was over 100 this summer but now I have an entire room full of them for the winter plus all of the additional plants I brought in. Everything else is either covered or taking its chances. There will be a lot of dead plants in the area when this cold snap is done. The only bright spot as you note is that the bugs should be nuked as well. It seems like even the birds left town this year. Stay warm.
There’s always a silver lining, Shannon, and dead mosquitoes is something we can all rally around! I hope your garden pulls through without much damage. —Pam
How’s it going on the mangave front? My macho mochas look very unhappy.
They looked fine yesterday morning, Mary. But it got down to at least 15F last night, so we’ll see. —Pam
What a drag, especially after the brutal summer weather you (and your plants!) had to endure! My sympathies…
Thanks, Jocelyn. Yes, after the summer we had, I felt that a comfortably cool, wet winter would not be too much to ask. Still, one out of two isn’t bad. —Pam
Every time it freezes here for the first time each winter I mourn–that must be much harder when it’s unexpected.
Hi, Susan. Yes, our early hard freezes were unexpected, and this record-breaking cold spell is adding to the trauma for cold-tender plants. Austin gardeners have been lulled the last few years by warm winters with no hard freezes into pushing our zone. The day of reckoning has come. —Pam
Pam, I am hoping that many of your plants that die back from the cold are still “root hardy” and will send up new shoots once your weather returns to normal, whatever that is!
Some will be, Carol. Thanks for the good garden wishes. I don’t know what normal is anymore either. 😉 —Pam
It’s a strange winter (preceded by a strange fall here in the Middle South)…Hopefully the plants will pull through and the weather will warm up. It’s 15F (-9.4C) here now. gail
Brr, Memphis is cold too. I hope your plants pull through just fine, Gail, and since you’ve wisely planted so many natives I’m sure they will. —Pam
Hi Pam,
Are you as tired of breaking records as I am? I haven’t even gone out to take a look yet this morning, but know it will be heartbreaking once temps get above freezing.
Time to switch from frozen margaritas to Irish coffee!
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
Or hot chocolate (I’m not a coffee drinker). But I may need something stronger when the damage finally becomes apparent. —Pam
Your poor plants! I agree with ESP & Robin that the plants under the ice will probably be just fine, as they’ll be held around 32?. (And people wonder why I like snow.) It’s no fun learning lessons at the school of hard knocks, but you & every gardener in Texas have just earned a gold stripe for this one. I hope the plants surprise you with hidden resilience.
Many of them will, MMD. I’m hopeful that way. Plus, I keep thinking that since my garden is so new, I don’t have all that many plants to lose. There’s always a bright side, right? —Pam
I just got a report of sleet or something frozen falling from the sky in Daytona, Florida. There is going to be a lot of damage to tender tropical plants because of the duration of this cold spell. Some may survive, but the babying process to get them back to full growth may not be worth the effort. Best to just toss them. Gardeners love blank slates and will recover after the shock wears off. Homeowners with landscapes will be a bit more freaked I think.
Not only will this kill local skeeter bugs, but foreign invasives like iguanas and geckos will get hit too. In my parent’s North Florida garden this deep freeze will actually be a blessing for them. An invasive non-native Boston Fern, Nephrolepis species and a Potato Vine, Dioscorea bulbifera have been strangling the garden. This cold should knock them back substantially if not completely.
See, there’s always a bright side if you look hard enough. This should help with Austin’s invasive hydrilla problem in the lakes too. —Pam
Oh, poor garden…..I think that Bamboo will come back, they are pretty tough. We had a record freeze a few years ago, it made me re-evaluate almost everything in my garden!
And after you re-evaluated, what did you do differently, if anything? I’m not sure I will change my taking a few risks on tender plants, especially if deep freezes like this one come only every 10 to 15 years. Nothing is certain, of course, but I get a lot of enjoyment out of my tender plants and will probably try again with any I lose. But that’s because the majority of my plants are hardy, so I don’t expect to lose everything. I would probably feel differently if all my plants were at risk from vagaries of the weather. —Pam
Oh Pam! That picture of your Agave desmettiana just breaks my heart! I am so sorry! I am glad to hear that you are getting above freezing (even if only a bit) during the day as that definitely makes a difference. Our almost week of days and nights below freezing with a 3 night run of 12-13 degree lows was just too harsh, I don’t wish that on any other supposed zone 8 gardeners. Yuck. I look forward to seeing what plants are doing well and hope that some of these power through it and surprise you with their tenacity.
A week below freezing would put a chill in my heart for many of my plants. Thank heavens you have so many in pots that you can move indoors for times like that. —Pam
Oh, Pam, I’m sorry the weather is still plaguing you. Feel free to send it up this way; we’re equipped for it and can handle it, but it makes me sad to see your plants in distress. However, you never know–sometimes they surprise us by pulling through in spite of incidents like this. Fingers crossed for you!
I’m blowing the cold air your way, Jodi, back to where it should be at this time of year. Thanks for the suggestion! 🙂 —Pam
Wait, what? Temps in the 70s and 80s during winter?!?! OK, color me clueless. I had no idea it gets that warm in winter in Austin!
Average winter highs are lower with days usually in the 60s, but yes, we often get days in the 70s or 80s throughout the winter. It makes for an unpredictable season when cold snaps like this hit. Stay warm! —Pam
Surely you can’t be over winter already — haven’t you just finished your summer? 🙂
I’m sorry to hear some of the plants aren’t coping. I’ve heard some will survive if covered with dead leaves or straw. Fingers crossed.
I’m over this winter, not Austin’s typical winter. I would like our regular winter to come back from wherever it’s gone to. 😉 —Pam
Pam,
Thanks for the tips on large agaves and succulents. I think you’re right not to fool with the dead leaves since they protect the center of the plant, but I also note that sometimes rot from the leaves can invade the center if left alone too long.
This particular plant is the most fecund plant I have ever seen. If anyone wants a pup that will become a 6×6 monster, please let me know. I come to austin frequently.
Cordially, John