Much-needed snow falls in Colorado, but the cold could spell trouble for trees and plants, expert explains.
They call it the Ore Cart Pull. It's a tradition that's part of Engineering Days at Colorado School of Mines in Golden. But it was scheduled on a day when snow pelted the procession — over an 8-mile journey that students walk from Robb Street near Simms Street and West Colfax into downtown Denver.
"Yeah, fingers are a little numb. Your instrument goes way out of tune," tuba player Nathan Julian told CBS Colorado. "Mouthpiece is rather frigid. It's certainly not the ideal experience."
It was unfamiliar weather too. Snow and cold are not what people along the Front Range are used to this year. It has been a spring when many people have shrugged off the warnings about planting before Mother's Day. They may end up getting stung.
"People need to worry about the Mother's Day thing every year," said Tommy Roth, home horticulture coordinator for CSU Extension in Boulder County. "Potentially, people got fooled this year. So, if people went out and planted natives, they're probably adapted to this. Probably, that's going to be fine. But anything like a tomato, a pepper and herb is going to get killed."
Gardeners do have an option. Bring them inside.
"Since people probably likely planted those very recently, they can actually just take them out of the ground, since they haven't rooted yet, and bring them inside," Roth explained.
The spring snow is wet, and that is a big positive after Colorado's dry spell. But, this late, it can weigh down trees. People may want to shake off the branches of trees within reach.
Fruit trees are likely to get problems from cold that is coming, but that depends. If the temperatures get down to 28-degrees Fahrenheit, plant kills are about a 10% likelihood. At 24 degrees, it's 90%.
Early blooming means more trees have budded out. But, for apples and stone fruit trees, it depends on how much.
"When the buds are just starting to swell, they can handle a lower temperature than when the fruits are already set," Roth explained. "The further they get along in that fruiting stage, the more vulnerable they are."
