Today, we removed the frost protection bags from the potted palms.
Here is first one.
And here is what we found after removing the cover.
And the second one.
And what we found after removing the bag.
Disappointing results for sure, but not a complete failure. Both pots were heavily mulched in the fall, so the roots of these palms should be in good condition. I am not going to be so quick to give up on these. I believe there is a chance that new growth will come forward. It's just going to take some warm, sunny days. So all is not lost here. Or at least that is my belief. I also believe the asparagus fern may be salvageable in the hanging baskets. The begonias in the hanging pots are gone. They have shallow root systems and the cold was just more than they could bear. I am going to severely cut back the ferns and these palm fronds and wait. As Big Daddy Pollitt said to Maggie the Cat (aka Elizabeth Taylor) in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, "There is life is this girls body." I believe there is life in these plants.
So what we have learned in this experiment is that Frost Protection bags do not work on plants that are not intended to be outside during the cold winter months. They will work if you have evergreens that you wish to protect from getting burned during the winter months. I am experiencing that very phenomena on the boxwood hedges along the front sidewalk this year. For reasons unknown, they took a particularly difficult hit this winter. If these bags or a burlap wrap had been installed, we may have avoided this. We will discuss this in more detail in the upcoming weeks.
Here is first one.
And here is what we found after removing the cover.
And the second one.
And what we found after removing the bag.
Disappointing results for sure, but not a complete failure. Both pots were heavily mulched in the fall, so the roots of these palms should be in good condition. I am not going to be so quick to give up on these. I believe there is a chance that new growth will come forward. It's just going to take some warm, sunny days. So all is not lost here. Or at least that is my belief. I also believe the asparagus fern may be salvageable in the hanging baskets. The begonias in the hanging pots are gone. They have shallow root systems and the cold was just more than they could bear. I am going to severely cut back the ferns and these palm fronds and wait. As Big Daddy Pollitt said to Maggie the Cat (aka Elizabeth Taylor) in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, "There is life is this girls body." I believe there is life in these plants.
So what we have learned in this experiment is that Frost Protection bags do not work on plants that are not intended to be outside during the cold winter months. They will work if you have evergreens that you wish to protect from getting burned during the winter months. I am experiencing that very phenomena on the boxwood hedges along the front sidewalk this year. For reasons unknown, they took a particularly difficult hit this winter. If these bags or a burlap wrap had been installed, we may have avoided this. We will discuss this in more detail in the upcoming weeks.
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