Jane, It's bleak up in Seattle, as well. I keep perennials and some bulbs in more than a dozen big hoop-tunnel structures on the ground and four more on long tables. Usually I can keep the plastic and tarps attached with garden clips, but wind makes the plastic billow and pops the clips off. The solution is rope looped over the tunnel and secured to the table legs or, on the ground, to heavy objects. Yesterday, the challenge was finding heavy objects that were not already frozen to the ground. I don't know what your structure is like, but perhaps rope will help you. I fear we're all going to learn a lot this winter. Good luck to you. On Sat, Jan 13, 2024, at 9:08 AM, Jane McGary via pbs wrote: > After no significant frost this year, the Pacific Northwest is > experiencing a sudden severe cold snap. My bulb collection is exposed to > ambient temperature, though covered against moisture. Everything is now > frozen solid. The temperature is not expected to rise above freezing for > about five days. What I wonder is, once a plant in growth is frozen, > does it matter how long it remains frozen? Almost all the plants in my > bulb house have previously survived about 20 degrees F for three days. > Is five days going to be worse? Or do I just give up on all > possibilities of survival because the plants were in unusually early > growth? There are about 1,200 different species concerned. I did bring > emerging seedlings into the garage before the freeze hit, but no > protection was possible for the plunged pots in the bulb house. Any > cover would have blown off in the present high winds -- the falling snow > is whirling around as the wind gusts constantly shift. > > Explanations of hardy plant response to prolonged freezing welcome. > > Jane McGary, Portland, Oregon, USA > > > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net > https://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/… > Unsubscribe: <mailto:pbs-unsubscribe@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> > PBS Forum https://… > _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net https://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/… Unsubscribe: <mailto:pbs-unsubscribe@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> PBS Forum https://…