Been hardening them off, accidentally forgot them outside last night and it froze for the first time in weeks. My poor babies. Will they be okay or have I killed them all? I’m so upset 😭😭
Been hardening them off, accidentally forgot them outside last night and it froze for the first time in weeks. My poor babies. Will they be okay or have I killed them all? I’m so upset 😭😭
by ZodFrankNFurter
4 Comments
PantryBandit
They might still be okay, best thing to do is just baby them for a bit. Make sure you don’t leave them out again, only put them out in warm weather, dapples ssun, etc. Even if the leaves froze the stems and roots might still be okay and bounce back.
stewd003
They’ll be alright mate! But if warmth and they’ll perk right up again. Some of the leaves haven’t even shrivelled up. Keep an eye on them and give them some tlc and they’ll be fine.
Kingkryzon
Please give an update in a few days if they recovered. Im curious!
StueyGuyd
It all depends on the temperature and how long everything was below freezing.
>At the cellular level plants are predominately water. When plant cells freeze, they burst. This is because water expands when it freezes. Plants can withstand a few hours at temperatures below —0.6 °C (31°F), but a few minutes at –2 °C (28 °F) can result in plant death.
If you take a jalapeno (the fruit), put it in a freezer, and then let it thaw, it’ll be mushy, and there’s no coming back from that.
Depending on the exact conditions, your limp plants will either perk up or start to degrade further.
As you said, some of the larger plants could have helped insulate the smaller ones. Hopefully the larger ones are just being dramatic and bounce back.
4 Comments
They might still be okay, best thing to do is just baby them for a bit. Make sure you don’t leave them out again, only put them out in warm weather, dapples ssun, etc. Even if the leaves froze the stems and roots might still be okay and bounce back.
They’ll be alright mate! But if warmth and they’ll perk right up again. Some of the leaves haven’t even shrivelled up. Keep an eye on them and give them some tlc and they’ll be fine.
Please give an update in a few days if they recovered. Im curious!
It all depends on the temperature and how long everything was below freezing.
[https://www.acs.org/education/resources/highschool/chemmatters/articles/fighting-frost-with-ice.html#:~:text=At%20the%20cellular%20level%20plants,can%20result%20in%20plant%20death](https://www.acs.org/education/resources/highschool/chemmatters/articles/fighting-frost-with-ice.html#:~:text=At%20the%20cellular%20level%20plants,can%20result%20in%20plant%20death) :
>At the cellular level plants are predominately water. When plant cells freeze, they burst. This is because water expands when it freezes. Plants can withstand a few hours at temperatures below —0.6 °C (31°F), but a few minutes at –2 °C (28 °F) can result in plant death.
If you take a jalapeno (the fruit), put it in a freezer, and then let it thaw, it’ll be mushy, and there’s no coming back from that.
Depending on the exact conditions, your limp plants will either perk up or start to degrade further.
As you said, some of the larger plants could have helped insulate the smaller ones. Hopefully the larger ones are just being dramatic and bounce back.
Good luck!!