Debated starting my own thread but it seemed like it wasn't really that worth it. I planted two new crowns (with sprouts) this past Sunday when it was close to 80 degrees - Columbus in the ground, and a freebie Fuggle in a 5 gallon bucket (by the way, thanks to Great Lakes Hops, you guys are awesome). I also have a Cascade, Mt. Hood, and Magnum in the ground, all in their 6th year grown from rhizomes, all have sprouted, but they're not really a concern to me at this point as they're well established. Of course I realized later Sunday evening we were to drop near freezing last night and then tonight into the low 20s. I put a bucket over the Columbus last night and actually never took it off today as it barely made it into the mid 30s this afternoon - it's 26 degrees right now. The Fuggle in the bucket had an inch of mulch over the top and therefore wasn't directly exposed but wasn't actually "covered." It's on our deck close to the house so it isn't totally out in the open but it isn't much warmer than open air.
The clincher is that it snowed close to 2" last night, and I figured it would melt off completely today. To my surprise the layer of mulch covering the Fuggle is actually still totally covered in snow, a half inch or so. As I said, it's going to be low 20s tonight, and is already well below freezing. Is there anything I should do at this point to give that plant a better chance, or given the mulch and snow and last night's freeze, would it be best to just RDWHAHB about it? I could move it into the garage but at this point it's been close to or below freezing for 24 hours now and is covered in snow. Is gradual warming (leaving it outside) best at this point, or should I pull it out of the deep freeze?
