FREEZING INJURY TO ARBORVITAE AND JUNIPERS IN KANSAS

Abstract

The susceptibility of Arborvitae and Junipers to freezing injury in Kansas was shown in the spring of I932. It seems possible that similar injury to the species of evergreens named herein could result in neighboring states. The differences in inijury were so striking that it was plainly evident that certain varieties were much hardier than others. Landscape and amateur gardeners could well afford to give the matter of planting evergreens careful consideration. The month of March, I932, averaged the sixth coldest March onl record in Kansas and was 3.50 F. colder than the February preceding. The mean temperature for March, I932, was 36.90, which is 6.70 below normal, making it the coldest March in eight years. The week beginning with the 5th of March was the coldest week in March in the history of the state, with temperatures scarcely up to the freezing point on any afternoon and readings close to or below zero on most of the nights. The temperatures and precipitation records from February I5 to March I5, I932, are given for Manhattan, Kansas. The maximum and minimum temperatures for the first two weeks in February are not included in the accompanying figures since they are very similar to the last two weeks. In order to appreciate the situation, one should examine the temperature records preceding the severe March freeze. The maximum dailv tempera-