Newbie Q on Freeze on Young Plants

snagged · May 1, 2014

A couple of weeks back when the late frost hit Atlanta, I had a few young plants (4-6 inches tall, true leaves, but no suckers or blossoms) get some freeze/frost damage on top, but lived. How long should I give them to show new growth and what should I look for before I pull and replace?

I've noticed my bigger, store-bought plants with suckers seem to be coming out of the freeze ok since the suckers are taking over for the main growth. But, the younger ones seem alive, but stalled right now.

Summer's around the corner. If my plants are gonna be productive, I'd like to keep them. But, if odds are against me, I'd like to go ahead and replace sooner than later.

Thanks in advance for the help!

SpookyShoe · May 1, 2014

I set my plants out the third week in Feb., which is normally safe for my immediate area. Not only did we have a late frost, we had three. I ended up replacing a few plants because not only did the leaves look frostbitten, but looked like they had signs of fungus starting because of the cold damp soil. Lucky for me there are a few local nurseries that sell heirloom plants.

Donna, Texas gulf coast, zone 9

Doug9345 · May 1, 2014

It's going to depend if the growing bud on top was injured. If it was they'll never grow anymore. If it's still hanging out around 50° F they are going to grow very slowly.

ContainerTed · May 2, 2014

I disagree with Doug on the point of never growing anymore. Even if the plant(s) took it on the primary top, the suckers will take over. As a former north Georgia resident, I can speak from a position of experience. Don't prune the suckers. You'll probably see a two week delay, while the plant recovers from its injuries. Exercise a lot of patience and the plants will reward you for waiting.

The suckers will become new tops and the plant will have an opportunity to progress at about double speed. One of my golden rules is "If it's in the ground and still alive and undiseased, let it rock and roll".

creister · May 3, 2014

I've had good success by leaving plants like this. They usually come back from the suckers. It can be slow. After two weeks, I would expect to see something by now, but it is hard to say. Pull and replant half of them ? Good luck

snagged · May 3, 2014

To update, and for folks who look at this in the future, the warm weather seems to be doing its medicine. They've been much improved the last couple of days. The younger plants are now suckering profusely to make up for the injured parts. One or two are even throwing out suckers near the tops that were injured. We'll see how things go from here (fingers crossed). Thanks again for the help!

Delerium · May 3, 2014

2 years ago i was trying to grow some tomatoes during our coldest months where we get down to 18-20F. The plants were about a foot tall and had tomato full of flowers on them. A cold spell frost burnt the plants to the plants they looked like goners (everything was black). So i cutt them down almost down to the ground level only to be surprised with new growth when we started to get warmer temps. The plants produced just fine and you could not tell they were the plants that had no hope. I've come to realize how hardy Tomato plants are just when you think there no hope they seem to come back strong and surprise you. Just start some new backups and give the plants that were damaged time a 2nd chance.

May 1, 2014	#1
snagged Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: GA(7b) Posts: 10	Newbie Q on Freeze on Young Plants A couple of weeks back when the late frost hit Atlanta, I had a few young plants (4-6 inches tall, true leaves, but no suckers or blossoms) get some freeze/frost damage on top, but lived. How long should I give them to show new growth and what should I look for before I pull and replace? I've noticed my bigger, store-bought plants with suckers seem to be coming out of the freeze ok since the suckers are taking over for the main growth. But, the younger ones seem alive, but stalled right now. Summer's around the corner. If my plants are gonna be productive, I'd like to keep them. But, if odds are against me, I'd like to go ahead and replace sooner than later. Thanks in advance for the help! Last edited by snagged; May 1, 2014 at 08:53 AM.

May 2, 2014	#4
ContainerTed Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: 6a - NE Tennessee Posts: 4,538	I disagree with Doug on the point of never growing anymore. Even if the plant(s) took it on the primary top, the suckers will take over. As a former north Georgia resident, I can speak from a position of experience. Don't prune the suckers. You'll probably see a two week delay, while the plant recovers from its injuries. Exercise a lot of patience and the plants will reward you for waiting. The suckers will become new tops and the plant will have an opportunity to progress at about double speed. One of my golden rules is "If it's in the ground and still alive and undiseased, let it rock and roll". __________________ Ted ________________________ Owner & Sole Operator Of The Muddy Bucket Farm and Tomato Ranch

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May 1, 2014	#2
SpookyShoe Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: El Lago, Texas Posts: 1,100	I set my plants out the third week in Feb., which is normally safe for my immediate area. Not only did we have a late frost, we had three. I ended up replacing a few plants because not only did the leaves look frostbitten, but looked like they had signs of fungus starting because of the cold damp soil. Lucky for me there are a few local nurseries that sell heirloom plants. Donna, Texas gulf coast, zone 9

May 1, 2014	#3
Doug9345 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Durhamville,NY Posts: 2,706	It's going to depend if the growing bud on top was injured. If it was they'll never grow anymore. If it's still hanging out around 50° F they are going to grow very slowly.

May 3, 2014	#5
creister Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Abilene, TX zone 7 Posts: 1,478	I've had good success by leaving plants like this. They usually come back from the suckers. It can be slow. After two weeks, I would expect to see something by now, but it is hard to say. Pull and replant half of them ? Good luck

May 3, 2014	#7
Delerium Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: California Posts: 942	2 years ago i was trying to grow some tomatoes during our coldest months where we get down to 18-20F. The plants were about a foot tall and had tomato full of flowers on them. A cold spell frost burnt the plants to the plants they looked like goners (everything was black). So i cutt them down almost down to the ground level only to be surprised with new growth when we started to get warmer temps. The plants produced just fine and you could not tell they were the plants that had no hope. I've come to realize how hardy Tomato plants are just when you think there no hope they seem to come back strong and surprise you. Just start some new backups and give the plants that were damaged time a 2nd chance.