Beautiful but Deadly

Since Thursday my corner of Kansas has been preparing for a winter storm. We were told to expect rain, freezing rain, and snow. If you’re not familiar with ice storms they are lot of “fun”. Of course I jest… mostly. Until a couple of years ago, when our electricity supply was updated, we frequently lost power during ice-storms.

During ice-storms overhead power lines get covered in ice, and trees and large branches are liable to fall due to the weight of the ice. Trees covered in ice look really beautiful, but the ice can be deadly to plants and sometimes to trees, to talk nothing of the effect of slippery roads which result in a flurry of road accidents. Where’s the fun in that!

Back in 2002 we had a massive ice-storm (the picture above was taken that time) and ended up without power for several days. Strangely, our neighbors across the street still had power. There was a “run” on generators at local stores and workers actually drove here from other parts of the country to run tree clear-up businesses for a few weeks. Actually, that time is was quite fun because we left the house and went to live with friends and neighbors – it was an adventure. That was, after we cleaned up our ornamental pear tree which split open just like a chocolate orange.

As I write, the ice-storm part is past and snow is gusting around outside my window. The local, Johnson County, Kansas horticulture department extension service issued a statement on Friday because of the widespread concern for the storm’s possible impact on plants. We were told that most plants should be fine – “The major concern this year will be with fruit trees in bloom. If the temperature gets down to about 25 we will probably lose about 90% of the fruit buds. The tree will be fine but the fruit crop will not. However, if the fruit buds are still in tight bud we should see minimal damage.”

I feel really bad for the folks who depend on apples and pears for income. Just two years ago, in 2007, we had a very nasty spring storm in April with 2 nights where temperatures dropped to about 18F. All of the apple and pear crop was lost. Maybe it’s not all bad – last fall, in 2008, we had a massive fruit crop. Pear and apple trees in my neighborhood were absolutely weighed down with fruit.

Anyway, I took precautions yesterday and covered my little radish and lettuce seedlings with leaf mulch in the hopes of preventing them from freezing. When the storm is past I’ll know whether they’ve survived, or if I need to start-over with spring seedlings.

Are you participating in Earth Hour tonight? If you want to take part, switch off all your lights at 8:30pm local time. And if you want to share a photo, video, or blog post find out how at the Earth Hour site.

I am proud to report that my little blog is currently an Editor’s Choice blog at Best Green Blogs. Here’s what Timothy Latz, the editor, said in an e-mail to me yesterday: “I also listed your site under the Editor’s Choice Category, because I think you are doing a great job of communicating the green and sustainable message through your blog! Congratulations!” I feel like a proud momma of my blog

Related posts:

1. Garden Corner 04/02/09
2. Beautiful Fall Berries – Kansas Natives
3. Don’t Call Me “That Blogger from Kansas”