frost damage

Depending on your geographical location in Ohio, the location of the plant, the actual low temperature, the plant species, as well as the growth stage on the species, the results of frost and freeze damage was variable across the state this past week.  Frost and freeze damage is so interesting because of so many variables.  A plant in a certain stage of growth may be more susceptible to frost or freeze damage than at other times.  The location of the plant in the garden may dictate the extent of the damage.  For instance, there might be two of the exact same plants in the same garden with...

I have a prized Canaan fir (Abies balsamea var phanerolepis) in my backyard.  It's prized because I'm a native West Virginian and so is the tree.  My wife knows that if we ever move, the tree is coming with us!  The common name of this balsam fir variety is based on its first discovery in the once isolated, high-mountain Canaan Valley in northeastern WV.  Jim Brown (another native West Virginian and Professor Emeritus, OSU School of Environment and Natural Resources) spent much of his long career sorting out the five natural seed sources (provenances) of this tree.  The...

Certain areas of Northeastern Ohio woke up Sunday morning to find that a hard frost had developed overnight covering turf, picnic tables and decks.  Many ornamental plants and fruit trees had swollen buds and even some scattered blooms evident.  The phone calls from concerned citizens started coming in wanting to know if all was lost regarding the fruit trees and blueberries for this year.  So I went out to see what had happened to the potential fruit crop for the coming season.