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Baby it’s Cold Outside
Admin • May 31, 2019
With this record setting cold, central Kentucky is experiencing what’s known as a ‘hard freeze.’ But what exactly defines a hard freeze? –
A hard freeze refers to extended periods of temperatures below 28° (that temperature would feel like a heatwave at the moment). These conditions are also sometimes referred to as a ‘killing freeze.’ These weather conditions are essentially the same thing with one important difference: dormant plants can generally survive a hard freeze, but actively growing plants can suffer severe damage or death – that’s when it a hard freeze becomes a killing freeze.
It Starts With A Frost
If the super-cooled, freezing temperatures cool to the dew point (the temperature at which, when cooled to at constant pressure, condensation occurs; moisture will have to come out of the atmosphere as fog, frost, etc. Frost is usually found on exposed surfaces like your car – you can easily sweep frost off of your windshield as it is light and fluffy – not frozen hard.
The Beautiful Hoar Frost
We’ve had beautiful hoar frost (also known as hoarfrost) this year. But what is hoar frost? “Hoarfrost is a deposit of interlocking ice crystals (hoar crystals) formed by direct sublimation (the transition of a substance directly from the solid to the gas phase, without passing through the intermediate liquid phase) on objects, usually those of small exposed tree branches, plant stems and leaf surfaces.
Hoarfrost, therefore, is like dew, except when it’s cold enough outside to freeze water (that is when it’s 32°F or 0°C), and there’s moisture in the air, then hoar crystals (flat crystals that interlock together), form from the moisture in the air when it comes in contact with the edge of the object that is below freezing (or vice versa?). So if you get up early enough, especially after a clear cold night, you can experience the direct sublime beauty of hoarfrost in all its simplicity.
Light, Moderate or Hard Frost
As air temperatures cool, the ground also begins giving off heat. This is called radiational cooling as the heat ‘radiates’ from the surface. Generally, the clearer the sky, the more heat is given off. For a frost to kill plants, the earth has to lose enough heat so that the freezing temperature occurs at ground level. If the ground is still warm, it is possible for the frost to hover a bit above ground level. That’s what happens when the tops of your plants are killed by frost but the lower portions remain green. We tend to refer to this as a light frost.
A killing frost is the occurrence of temperatures cold enough to kill all but the hardiest vegetation. A killing frost tends to be the last frost in spring when tender first stems and leaves begin coming up, and the first in fall frost, when plants have not yet begun to lose leaves and flowers.
Then There Are The Freezes
A freeze can happen when the surface air temperature falls to 32° or below; frost may or may not form, depending on the moisture in the air. Freezes are usually caused by what is called advective cooling. Advection is the transference of some atmospheric condition, like heat, humidity, or cold, by the movement of an air mass. Think arctic blast; when one of these blows in, all the annual plants and tender perennials tend to call it a day.
Freezes can be quick or they can linger. If they are cold enough, even a short freeze can do a lot of damage. Even the hardiest perennials will be killed back to ground level by a long, hard freeze. A sure sign is when the ground crunches when you walk on it.
It’s interesting to note that frost and freeze advisories are only issued during growing seasons, both spring and fall. If the plants are dormant, it’s just called cold weather.
Call it what you will – cold, by any other name, is still cold – and baby it’s cold outside right now! Stay in if you can, and if you must venture out – stay safe.
Probably not with silver bells and cockleshells*, considering there aren’t any sandy beaches in central Kentucky 😉
February 15, 2019 Lexington, KY – Mow Mow’s Landscaping is proud to announce that it has earned the home service industry’s coveted Angie’s List Super Service Award (SSA) for the second year in a row! This award honors service professionals who have maintained exceptional service ratings and reviews on Angie’s List in 2017 & 2018. “The service providers that receive our Angie’s List Super Service Award demonstrate the level of excellence that members have come to expect,” said Angie’s List Founder Angie Hicks. “These pros are top-notch and absolutely deserve recognition for the trustworthy and exemplary customer service they exhibited in the past year and overall.” Angie’s List Super Service Award 2018 winners have met strict eligibility requirements, which include maintaining an “A” rating in overall grade, recent grade and review period grade. The SSA winners must be in good standing with Angie’s List, pass a background check, record a current trade license attestation and abide by Angie’s List operational guidelines. “Mow Mow’s goal has always been to exceed our customer’s expectations in quality of work, professionalism and promptness of service. It is an honor to receive this reward and be recognized for attaining this goal for the 2nd year in a row.” – Jennifer Medrano, Owner Mow Mow’s Landscaping has been listed on Angie’s List since 2017 when the company was first launched. This is the second time Mow Mow’s Landscaping has received this honor. Service company ratings are updated continually on Angie’s List as new, verified consumer reviews are submitted. Companies are graded on an A through F scale in multiple fields ranging from price to professionalism to punctuality. For over two decades Angie’s List has been a trusted name for connecting consumers to top-rated service professionals. Angie’s List provides unique tools and support designed to improve the local service experience for both consumers and service professionals. ### For over two decades, Angie’s List has provided trusted reviews and information to help millions of consumers make smart hiring decisions. Angie’s List offers more than 10 million verified reviews in over 700 service categories, providing its members a credible resource for researching and comparing local service providers. Angie’s List is based in Indianapolis, Indiana and is an operating business of ANGI Homeservices (NASDAQ:ANGI). Contact: Steffanie Finkiewicz Angie’s List 303-963-8384 mediarelations@angieslist.com You can check out Mow Mow’s Angie’s List reviews here .
If you’ve been waiting for the perfect time to start your garden, this is it. It’s time to start seeds indoors so they’ll be ready to plant outside when spring begins in earnest. It’s a fun project to get you through the late winter period that’s really all about waiting for spring to finally come calling.
here’s plenty of time before spring comes a long, but it’s always fun to look through magazines like Southern Living at the beautiful gardens and landscapes featured there. They’re always lush and thriving, often filled with unique plants and flowers you may have never seen before. But before you start pining for that unusual flora, there are several factors to consider if you want to be successful in having the gardens of your dream. The four most important are sun, soil, water and zone – these factors are the key to having that green thumb. Unfortunately, you can’t count on a plant’s label to give you the whole story, it’s a generalization at best.
Happy New Year! With the beginning of 2019 here upon us, it’s time to start preparing your landscape to look its best in the spring. While it is easy to hide away from the cold winter weather here in central Kentucky, be sure to spend some time in January and February knocking out some simple yard work- beyond taking down the decorations you put up for the holiday season. Not sure where to start? Here are a few helpful suggestions:
Ice melting products can damage your landscape. Rock salt is by far the leader in causing landscape damage both in the soil and via wind driven salt spray.
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