"They say if you’re in Tennessee and you don’t like the weather, wait 5 minutes, it'll change," says Sheila Peterson - Customer Service Specialist - Ooltewah Nursery.
Spring begins on Monday at 5:34 p.m., but with a deep freeze hitting our area , local nurseries are protecting their merchandise.
A cold front has brought temperatures with lows of 20s and it could threaten blooming plants.
“It can completely defoliate them, the last deep freeze that we had completed defoliated plants that we consider evergreen” says Sheila Peterson .
Sheila says every year the Ooltewah Nursery prepares for an early spring freeze by turning off and draining all irrigation, and finding a place to keep those blooming plants warm
In February perennials, trees and grasses are placed in greenhouses on the nurseries campus to protect them from the powerful spring freeze.
At the Backyard Nursery in Chattanooga, co-owners Taylor and Emily Nelson delay their new inventory because of the cold weather.
“We’re always a little hesitant bringing in the perennials and the annuals too early because we always have scramble and cover everything with frost cloth” says Taylor and Emily Nelson.
In a couple weeks the Backyard nursery will look like this...
However, the Nelson's say you can never be too sure when another frost will hit.
“When people asked me if they can start planting tomatoes and things like that, I always tell them [to be] conservative until the middle of April before our last frost is over with... In the mountains, it can still be the first of May” says Senior Meteorologist Bill Race.
Still, Bill says warm weather is on the way.
Tips from Local Nurseries for Taking on Frosty Weather During Bloom Season:
- Purchase a frost cloth or use a bed sheet to drape plants
- For small potted plants, bring them inside or use buckets to cover it
The Backyard Nursery is hiring. You can learn more here.