Did frost kill my plants?

Its almost the middle of May and we’ve been having some incredibly cool temperatures recently. It’s been great weather for an evening bonfire but anything but good on your plants in your landscape. To hammer home the oddity of this recent cold streak, here are some stats for you:

The last time a freezing temperature at or below 32 degrees was recorded during the last complete month of spring was May 4, 2005.
Over the last 125 years, there has been a May freeze only 25 times.
The last freeze has occurred on or after May 9 only 10 times.
The last time that happened was 40 years ago.
The latest freeze ever recorded in Dayton, Ohio was May 21, 1907.

We’re currently setting some new records for freezes this spring. The reason we bring this up is because these late freezes are going to be doing some visual damage to your landscape bushes, perennials, and even trees. With this latest frost on the morning of May 9th, you may be seeing some damage to your plants. Don’t be alarmed, they should recover quickly.

Hostas will bounce back