Much of Western New York is expecting several inches of snow tonight and into tomorrow, potentially followed by low temperatures Wednesday night. For plants and trees in bloom, this could be very damaging. Some strawberries are already showing blossoms, mostly those under row covers or early varieties. This raises concerns of whether there is anything growers can or should do to protect their plants.

The good news is that, for strawberries, cold plus snow is a blessing – the snow should help insulate the plants against the coldest air temperatures (low to mid-20’s in some areas), and will hopefully melt off relatively quickly as things warm up Thursday and Friday.

For plants not showing buds, strawberries are relatively cold tolerant, and should come through this fine. Straw should already be off, leaving it on would not help in this weather. The more serious risk comes if we get a truly late frost (early May) when everything is blooming, and that is when overhead frost protection is important.

Blueberries and caneberries are generally still at a growth stage where they can tolerate cold temperatures, but we may find damage as things develop. I’m sure we will all be out cutting buds to check over the next few weeks.