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Released: March 23, 2006 March’s Return to Wintry Weather Shouldn’t Kill Landscapes MANHATTAN, Kan. – The forsythia and quince were blooming and the redbud trees were a pink haze when snows and frigid temperatures hit Kansas in late March. “Fortunately, losing plants in a cold snap is less of a concern in spring than it is in fall,” said Ward Upham, who coordinates the Master Gardener program for Kansas State University Research and Extension. A similarly abrupt temperature drop occurred on April 19, 1997, Upham said. “In Manhattan, we were in the 50s one day and down to 25 degrees the next,” he recalled. “As a result, we saw some leaf burn and even the death of some terminal shoots – but no significant damage.” This week’s unusually cold weather will mean a loss of flowers, the horticulturist warned. Leaves that already had emerged may look like they’ve developed summer scorch. “Even if leaves and swollen buds are completely killed, however, the plant will activate secondary buds. It will leaf out again later,” Upham said. A spring cold snap is easier on plants because their tissues slowly become more succulent, following months in winter dormancy, he said. In contrast, if fall hasn’t brought enough cool temperatures to help those tissues harden off again, a sudden temperature plunge can have a wealth of succulent tissues available for freezing. “That’s why we’re much more likely to see tremendous damage and even plant death when temperatures snap too early in fall,” Upham said. -30- K-State Research and Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the well-being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county Extension offices, experiment fields, area Extension offices and regional research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K-State campus, Manhattan. Story by: Ward Upham is at 785-532-1438 |