Late Frosts and Rapid Growth
Written by Bill Caras
Things are growing like crazy right now. Trees, shrubs and perennials are blooming all over town. It’s a great time to plant and we’re loaded with all sorts of plants in every category including seeds (grass, vegetable and flower), vegetable plants, annuals, hanging baskets, vines, specialty plants along with the aforementioned trees, shrubs and perennials. There are many desirable varieties in all of these selections. Also making their presence felt in the garden are plants that are not so desirable, better known as weeds. If you haven’t already, now’s the time to get them under control. Young weeds with their underdeveloped root systems are quite easy to control and hand pulling is easy and quick. Alternatively, organic herbicides work really well on weeds in the juvenile stages. Most organic sprays kill the tops of weeds quite effectively and can knockout younger weeds for the season as a result. We specialize in organic weed control products and are happy to offer several alternatives. The real trick is go get on top of weeds when they’re young but its imperative they not be allowed to go to seed.
We recently had spotty mild to hard frosts in the area. Higher elevations seemed to get hurt worst. Susceptible plants included basil and other tender herbs, fruiting “vegetables” including squash and cucumber, tender annuals like marigolds and potato vine. There were even a few ash trees here and there that had their new growth nipped a bit. The ash trees should come right back but the smaller plants may not depending on the extent of the damage. Late frosts don’t happen every year but the average last frost for Missoula is in the second half of May. Any plants that have already been outside are usually unaffected by frost but the varieties I mentioned above are intolerant of frost. Certainly anything that has been outside at our nursery will be fine in the ground at your home. For the most part, getting things planted early is beneficial for season long performance. Cool temperatures slow top growth down while the roots develop so that when favorable conditions arrive, top growth takes off. Flowering plants are more compact and begin blooming earlier. Likewise, earlier harvest is the benefit to food crops. Frost protection products such as frost cloth are very effective and need to be put out only for cold and/or frosty nights. Whenever possible, tent the cloth so it is not in direct contact with foliage or flowers. It can be left on but removing it each day would likely yield the best results. Finally, frosts that strike when plants are flowering often kill the flowers and fruit for the year is gone or diminished. Vegetative growth is left okay undamaged and the tree will live on to fruit another day (year).
