Hi bctkj,
You're directly west of me, as far as latitude goes, more elevation, though. We watch your weather to see what's coming our way in the next 36 hours.
Wifey and I grabbed a two week vacation a short while back, just as the magnolia flowers were about to come on (the earliest of the flowering trees). Our trip to warmer climes concided perfectly with the freeze you got. Here in Indiana, about a week into the full flowering season, it got down to 17 deg. F. (-9 C.) When we got back, it was really bad. All flowers roasted, new leaf output, roasted. Things like the hostas that has just popped, roasted. One thing I DID like seeing, all the early-stage mulberry fruits, they're turning to dust right now.
The later blooming trees are awesome right now, but the earlier ones, like crabapples, we'll probably be seeing fewer crabapple fruits this fall. I hope the sweetgum buds got nixed.
Lots of crunchy leaves all around, but trees seem to be recovering well.
I checked a few birches and they seem OK, but where yours is in a pot, mine was a multi-stem two-hugger, as well as a few others sunk in the earth.
Trees have been experiencing this stuff for many thousands of years, they do OK. As far as your potted birch, [quote]there is really not much you can do till the tree puts on its new growth then you can assess the extent of the damage. Adequate watering is essential, I'd add dilute solution of seaweed extract and fish emusion (choose one with a low Nitrogen % content). |