FROSTS
Jane McGary (Tue, 13 Nov 2007 15:37:34 PST)
Jean wrote,
For hardy plants, the damage occurs at 32F or below. And as has been
noted in earlier posts, it often occurs somewhat below 32. The reason:
plant cells contain various components which act as a sort of
anti-freeze.
One curious observation about "anti-freeze": I have a lot of deciduous
magnolias, and some of them have flowers that are destroyed by freezing,
while others (e.g., M. x loebneri hybrids such as 'Ballerina') seem to have
anti-freeze in the flowers. I think the same can be observed among
rhododendrons.
Jane McGary