Garden variety April freeze

The official overnight low in Philadelphia was a frosty 30, and by daybreak Wednesday the temperature is due to fall into the 20s.

As we've mentioned, April cold snaps like this one pop up about every five years.

And while they prematurely snuff out those delicate tree blossoms, daffodils,  hyacinths, and most of the showier bulb flowers should be just fine, says Peter Zale, curator and plant breeder at Longwood Gardens.

"It will damage some things, but I don't think it will kill anything," he said.

The plants have been through this drill before; in fact, they and-or their ancestors have weathered worse.

We note that the record low for an April 6 in Philadelphia is 24, set in 1982, the day a snowstorm left 3.5 inches in the city and plenty more elsewhere.

That was part of an amazing run of December in April, featuring six consecutive days of lows of 30 and under at Philadelphia International Airport, including 19 on the 7^th.

A cold spell such as this poses a real danger for fruit crops, said Zale, and it will take its toll on cherry and magnolia blossoms.

" I suspect that a lot of them will be reduced to brown mush," he said, but "you  know that not every year you're going to get a good show."

But as fir the daffodils, some of which looked like there were in mourning Tuesday morning, "I think those will snap back, no problem," he said.

A lot of them, he noted, opened up during the other-worldly December and then managed to survive through the cold of January and February.

As precautionary measures, home gardeners can cover plants with frost blankets, said Zale. He, himself, covers the orchids in his home garden with a plain old bed sheet.

We can't speak for everyone in the city state, but we do believe it's about time for winter to say "good night."