Supercool

I want to start out by thanking everyone who made it out for our gift card & EarthMix® Garden™ promotion! We had such a great time giving back and seeing the joy on your faces. Getting to share in the excitement was a genuine blessing that reinvigorated our anticipation of Spring. 

If you think about it, it’s kind of miraculous that our plants can endure so much. From the 100 degree days of summer to the frigid temperatures we’ve experienced this week, our plants are really put through it. So, how do they survive? What prevents them from dying when they’re converted to plantsicles in ice storms? In simplified terms, plants reduce the amount of water in their cells as the cooler months approach, to where only pure water exists within them. This supercooled liquid cannot freeze and break the cell walls due to its purity. The individual cells can expand and contract, so the water outside the cell walls can freeze without damaging the interior.

Insulation also plays a large role in keeping our plants happy over the winter. In areas like ours that get plenty of cold but little snow, mulch takes over the crucial role of keeping moisture at the roots. It helps by stabilizing temperatures (when our weather makes 30 degree swings) while water does the heavy lifting of insulating roots from frigid temperatures in moist soil.

If you’re curious about what’s safe to trim right now & what to avoid, check out this great segment from Austin on last week’s Gardening Inside Out. Start your weekend off right with Josh, David, Caroline, Austin, and Tyler every Saturday at 8 am. If you also happen to be a pansy killer, we just received beautiful 4.5P & 6P pots from Riverbend!

Thank you for another wonderful week, friends. Don’t forget to follow us on Instagram for extra Know Down goodness every week. Queue up the podcast for your commute. We look forward to seeing you soon!

Happy Gardening,

Sara Bates