Warm spell not good for plants

The warm weather we had earlier this week was a welcome break from the winter temperatures, but it may have caused problems for some plants.

During the winter, a couple of days in a row with abnormally warm temperatures, will cause dormant plants  to lose their tolerance to cold.

If a warm spell is followed by a quick drop in temperatures down to the single digit range, damage is likely to occur in some plants.  The temperature in many locations in our area did drop that low — well over a 40 degree difference.

Plants will get back their cold tolerance now that it’s cold again. We’ll have to wait until spring to find out if any plants actually were hurt by the abnormal weather.