They survived the whims of a hap-hazard gardener, they survived a two-hour ride on public transport, they even survived a sustained slug attack for months (okay, the entire summer), but will our heroes be able to survive THIS?
I had hoped our area would stay just clear of the predicted frost so I could see the very promising purple dahlia buds turn into flowers, but I guess that’s unlikely to happen, considering that it will be even colder tonight. Still, they put on a great show, all together, and I think that growing these from seed is probably the most satisfying garden activity of the year.
For now, though, there is nothing to do. I’m off to the city for the weekend, so I can’t cut them down and lift the tubers until next week. The frost is only on the surface, though, so it will just kill the flowers and leave the tubers unscathed – and the freezing has been so light that there is actually a small – very small – chance that the flowers will have survived well enough to be left standing for another week, considering that temperatures aren’t likely to dip below freezing again during the week from Sunday onwards, but you just never know.
Also, a few words of wisdom… When you wake up in the morning and see frost on the lawn it is NOT recommended to rush out to take pictures of your dahlias in your bathrobe; put on some trousers, or it will not just be the dahlias that feel a touch of frost…
haha!! so true but I usually freeze my toes and fingers when I rush out to view the frost. We had a freeze not a frost so all are gone.
Well, I did have the sense to slip into a pair of clogs; I always have a pair stationed at each of the three doors out of the house so I don’t have to walk barefoot in the garden.
Actual sustained freezing is still a while off, so we shall see how the plants fare through two consecutive nights where the temperature has dipped below freezing. (I, for one, have caught a cold, so I suspect the plants may also have suffered.)
If you see frost coming cover your tender plants with a sheet or blanket. If it is a light frost they should be ok.
Well, since I garden by our holiday home there’s just no way of monitoring things on a day-to-day basis, so the plants will just have to deal with whatever nature throws at them.
(The dahlia tubers will be lifted next week, though, so I’ll have to cut back the plants anyway.)
Ah, I forgot about that. Yes, that makes it a lot more tricky!