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How Cold is Too Cold?

SanSoo

SanSoo

Is was not supposed to be so cold last night, but the temp got down to 43f, and I didn't bring the plants in.

How cold can they get and not be harmed? Most are only 3" high or smaller, all in cups.

What are the long term implications for seedlings getting this cold?
 
It depends on how long they are exposed, and the size of the plant but usually if its above freezing you should be alright. Its often the cold winds that do the most damage
 
mine about 10inch long and been out for while the temp droped down to 40 and i kept em out they dont liek it cuz they are not growing fast but they wont die once they get adjusted they will be ok
 
Those temps won't kill them by any means, that will only happen when you get closer to freezing. The real problem with low temps is that it has a tendency to slow or stunt plant growth especially with younger plants. a couple of days of low temps [40's] won't cause this, but extended periods of low temps will. I had a habanero last year that I planted out early, it spent a couple of weeks with lows in the 40-50 range. The main stem pretty much stayed the same height, and didn't grow much taller, it only branched out from there. The other ones I planted later reached full height. The biggest thing with peppers is they don't like "cold feet", and when they experience it can cause stunted growth.

One option you have is if you bring them in at night and just put them back out in the morning you should be fine.
 
Slow growth I can live with. The weather has been wacky this season, and the plants have been growing slowly, but they are growing. Is Stunted growth more the norm?
 
Mine spent the night in that same kind of weather and are all screwed up. I've been battling to get them back ever since. the good thing was that none of them died, but they're still fighting for survival.
 
Mine spent several nights in the mid to low 40's; 42F earlier this week. Now they have the idea they need to reproduce and are budding and setting pods like crazy at a size way too small. It looks like I'm going to be forced to pinch buds this season or have midget plants; provided they survive the damn fire ants.
 
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