Temps above freezing but colder than plants like

gorbelly · March 28, 2016

I'm finding a lot of conflicting information regarding the damage that cold temps that are still above frost can do to plants.

Some people seem to think that temperatures that are colder than what plants like will permanently damage/stunt them, even if they do not suffer frost damage, while others seem to think that it will just slow their growth while they are exposed to the cold temperatures but not affect their later growth when the weather warms up.

I realize that it probably also depends on which specific plants we're talking about (for example, some basil varieties will get black leaves with temps in the 40s), but I was just wondering whether there is a general principle here. For example, during spring, when temps can get down into the 40s at night but be well into the 60s or even 70s during the day--is being exposed to a few hours of temps in the low 40s permanently damaging for young plants?

March 28, 2016	#1
gorbelly Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: Southeastern Pennsylvania Posts: 1,069	Temps above freezing but colder than plants like I'm finding a lot of conflicting information regarding the damage that cold temps that are still above frost can do to plants. Some people seem to think that temperatures that are colder than what plants like will permanently damage/stunt them, even if they do not suffer frost damage, while others seem to think that it will just slow their growth while they are exposed to the cold temperatures but not affect their later growth when the weather warms up. I realize that it probably also depends on which specific plants we're talking about (for example, some basil varieties will get black leaves with temps in the 40s), but I was just wondering whether there is a general principle here. For example, during spring, when temps can get down into the 40s at night but be well into the 60s or even 70s during the day--is being exposed to a few hours of temps in the low 40s permanently damaging for young plants?