Unfortunately for Grandma & Grandpa, their entire trip out to sunny Arizona was not quite as warm as they were hoping! Starting the day they arrived and ending the day after they left, we had some actual wintery weather. A true "cold snap"! Even those with "Nebraska blood" said it was cold! :)
It started raining the day they arrived and rained straight through to the next morning. And then, the unthinkable happened--SNOW! Yes, snow here in Phoenix (which actually happens once every 5-10 years or so. And, once in Tucson we actually got enough that some schools were called the next day due to ice). Nothing in town enough to stick, but you could see it coming down and the mountains on the out-skirts of town were all dusted white!
Then, once the precipitation went away, it got cold! Ok, not like ridiculous sub-zero temperature cold, but highs in the low 40s and lows well below freezing (into the teens in outlying areas). This wouldn't be a big deal at all, except that the plants here don't really like that too much. So, we spent one whole afternoon/evening tending to the plants!
First step, pick the majority of the citrus so that the fruit wouldn't all freeze:
Even our night-blooming cactus--its tips covered in styrofoam cups! :)
Then, check the plants for damage:
Couldn't figure out why there was so much ice around the parts of some plants...
Upon further inspection, realized that the ice wasn't "around" the plant...the plants actually exploded. Yep, just like a pop can in the freezer--the plants froze from the inside out and that expanding ice actually ripped them apart! Pretty crazy, huh?! Really, truly, a literal cold snap!
Needless to say then, we sustained some serious damage to some of our foliage! But, all the local nurseries say not to do anything until there is no more risk of another hard freeze. So, for now, our yard has some lovely-looking "freezer burnt" plants!! Hopefully they all recover this spring!
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