Snow day today

Horrible isn't it, I hate the sight of it. I hope your plants will be all right.

yes it has been quite a shock to some areas of the country. So far we just have freezing conditions and a 'pretty' Hoar frost.

We had about 3 minutes of snow and that's it . Also hoping your plants do okay in it all. appears to be milder soon - windy Christmas eve !

Thank you, Hywel, but the majority of the plants on the balcony have frozen to death - quite literally frozen! I went out this morning, just for a few minutes to check on them. I found that the leaves on ALL my plants were frozen solid! Even the Pansies were frozen! I don't know yet if they will recover or not. I'd planted more of them this year than I have for some years.

The Geraniums, Pelargoniums & Fuchsias on the new shelving unit I put up a few months ago & covered in fleece are frozen, like those on the balcony railings that have no protection at all!

I wasn't able to open the zippers on the mini-greenhouse to check on the plants inside. But judging by the frozen condensation they are also frozen. Until the frosts & freezing temps come to an end on Sunday afternoon Monday morning I won't be able to get in the MG.

It has been exceptionally cold for a few nights and I think everyone will have lost some plants. I have Geraniums and Fuchsias in a perspex shelter at the side of my garage and they're usually fine in there but I think they must be frozen solid now. I haven't been down there to look. I'm a bit afraid of finding what condition they're in. I may try this afternoon.

I hope your plants have survived, Hywel.

Most of them seem all right Balcony.

Owing to the increase in temps today - from 1C or 2C as they had been for days - to today's 13C has meant that the snow & ice from yesterday has now all gone - as if it had never been!!! But in it's wake it has left me with most of my plants dead. 😢

Except for 2 Geraniums all the other Pelargoniums, Geraniums, Fuchsias & a Marguerite on the new shelving unit that was wrapped up in fleece are now no longer! 😢

But on a little brighter note the great majority of the plants in the mini-greenhouse have come through unscathed! 👍😀

Though I have lost so many plants that I will have to start anew next year at least some of the plants that were frosted have replacements in the MG! 😀 I will just have to be a lot more careful the next time we are forecast cold weather - I think I was lulled into a false sense of security with the unusually warm autumn & the fact that the last few winters have been quite mild. I remember I used to take more precautions & didn't let things just slip by, like I did this year.

The Pansies seem to have come through the bad weather but it may be a few days yet before I can be completely sure. What most surprised me was that the leaves of the Pansies were just frozen solid! I could have broken a leaf off with no trouble whatsoever! 😱

I'm glad to know the plants in your mini greenhouse are all right. I think we must learn from this that not all winters will be mild.
We usually get mild autumns here so I tend to leave things too late and then it's a rush getting everything under cover if there's an early cold period. It just seems a shame to put things away when they're looking so good.
I worry about the cost of plants next year with the way things are going.

don't be too hasty in throwing out the fuchsias. They may regrow from the buds at root level. I have had successful regrowth from them over the years.

SBG I haven't thrown out the Fuchsias because I know they can regenerate from underground buds. I've just thrown away the Geraniums & Pelargoniums that had been frozen solid for a couple of days as well as a Marguerite plant.