How the Botanical Garden Plants Cope with the Coldest Winter Days and Nights: Camellias and Arbutus Bloom, the Spruce Broke Under the Frost

The staff of the IKBFU Botanical Garden reports with restrained optimism that they have survived the coldest week of winter quite well.

	Svetlana Yakovleva, Acting Director of the IKBFU Botanical Garden:
	On one of the days, at 7 a.m., the thermometer in the Botanical Garden showed temperatures close to 30 degrees below zero. I suspect that this is the most ventilated and windy corner, which is why it was so cold. We can say we have not only survived the coldest day, but we are currently experiencing the coldest winter in the last 10 years. So far, there have been no fatal losses. We have lost one tree: a birch that broke due to frost and old age, as well as a spruce that was damaged by the stuck wet snow. There are no fatal damages in the greenhouses, but there are a few minor damages caused by temperature fluctuations. Despite the use of boilers and heat guns, the weather fluctuations are still affecting the plants. For example, the Araucaria tree did not like the sudden change in temperature, with daytime temperatures ranging from +15°C to +20°C and evening or nighttime temperatures around +10°C. However, our camellias are blooming beautifully, and the first buds have already opened. We have also started to see the first flowers of the silver acacia, which are commonly given as gifts to women on March 8. The silver acacia has survived the cold weather in the greenhouse, it does not grow in the open ground. We will have to wait and see what happens next, but we are hopeful that plants will survive the conditions of weather without significant losses.

Svetlana Yakovleva, Acting Director of the IKBFU Botanical Garden:

On one of the days, at 7 a.m., the thermometer in the Botanical Garden showed temperatures close to 30 degrees below zero. I suspect that this is the most ventilated and windy corner, which is why it was so cold. We can say we have not only survived the coldest day, but we are currently experiencing the coldest winter in the last 10 years. So far, there have been no fatal losses. We have lost one tree: a birch that broke due to frost and old age, as well as a spruce that was damaged by the stuck wet snow. There are no fatal damages in the greenhouses, but there are a few minor damages caused by temperature fluctuations. Despite the use of boilers and heat guns, the weather fluctuations are still affecting the plants. For example, the Araucaria tree did not like the sudden change in temperature, with daytime temperatures ranging from +15°C to +20°C and evening or nighttime temperatures around +10°C. However, our camellias are blooming beautifully, and the first buds have already opened. We have also started to see the first flowers of the silver acacia, which are commonly given as gifts to women on March 8. The silver acacia has survived the cold weather in the greenhouse, it does not grow in the open ground. We will have to wait and see what happens next, but we are hopeful that plants will survive the conditions of weather without significant losses.