Garden Considerations After Recent Snow in Okla.

Oklahoma is slowly thawing out after a week of wintry weather. The storm brought rounds of snow and ice, as well as bitter cold temperatures. Gardeners might be wondering how this will impact their gardens, especially after earlier winter temperatures were unseasonably warm. Here are a few considerations before moving into spring: The majority of Oklahoma is in USDA Hardiness Zone 7, with the panhandle in zone 6 and the southern portion along the Red River in zone 8. Hardiness zones are defined by the average annual extreme minimum winter temperature. This corresponds to a low between 0° and 10°F for zone 7, which largely reflects what was experienced this past week. It is unlikely this recent winter event will cause damage if landscape plants are adapted to zone 7. If a gardener is experimenting with marginally hardy species labeled for zone 8 or higher, there’s a chance that these plants could have been affected.