The ridiculous cold, trees and EAB

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show:  The ridiculous cold, trees and EAB

So we all experienced record low temperatures for nearly two weeks. Pipes froze, heaters couldn’t keep up and we worried about our plants.

Some may suffer while others may thrive. A recent article by MinnPost reporter Greta Kaul reports that Matt Russell, an associate professor and extension specialist at the University of Minnesota’s Department of Forest Resources said they have adaptations that allow them to survive the winter and some even benefit from the extended cold.

Those trees that drop their leaves, stop the water in the leaves from freezing. Evergreen needles have a coating called cutin to help lock in moisture since they don’t lose their leaves.

But there’s something else that could be VERY good for our Ash trees. Emerald Ash Borer has killed tens of millions of ash trees and it continues to be on the move.

But, here’s the good thing. Russell says at -20 degrees, 50 percent of EAB larva die! At -30 that number goes up to 95%. That’s a big wahoo!

While our pipes were bursting, those nasty larva were freezing to death. Oh and there’s more, Japanese beetles, those nasty things also don’t like the arctic cold! These beetles feed on crops, fruit trees, birch, elm and a whole ton of other plants as many of us know!

Japanese beetle larva go underground in the winter, but, If the soil temperature drop to 32 degrees for two months, Mn State Climatologist, Pete Boulay, says those grubs die!

So, maybe the polar vortex was worth it? We’ll see.