Expert: Despite Cold Weather, Daffodils Are Safe
GLENCOE, Ill. (WBBM) -- You needn't weep for your daffodils, even if the weekend frost turned them a little brown around the edges.
As WBBM Newsradio 780's John Cody explains, some daffodils that poked up through the soil early, only to meet overnight temperatures in the mid-20s, are already showing signs of wear.
But the Chicago Botanic Garden says not to worry.
"We're fortunate that the daffodils that we grow here in the Chicago area are all descended from parents that grow in high-mountain regions in Europe, and so they're really well-adapted to these swings in temperatures," said Botanic Garden plant documentation director Boyce Tankersley. "So as long as the temperatures don't get much below the mid-20s, all that foliage, and especially all the flowers that are still underground, are still very much protected. They're still good."
Tankersley said it might be nice to postpone spring garden cleanup, so the leftover leaves can serve as a protecting blanket for another week or so. Nut he says overall, the daffodils will be doing fine, despite the subfreezing temperatures.
