News Plants

Narrowed plumbing lets flower survive summer cold snaps

Tiny pores, skinny pipes prevent ice from reaching alpine heather’s flowers

heather

CHILL OUT  Scotch heather weathers summer freezes by forming internal ice barriers that block ice crystals from spreading to its flowers.

Peter O'Connor aka anemoneprojectors/Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)

By Laurel Hamers

- More than 2 years ago

A summertime cold snap can, quite literally, take the bloom off the rose.