Garden Sun and Shade Mapping Sheet
Choose where to plant from the sun and shade you have watched, not from a guess. Looks in three seasons show how far the shade moves through the year.
GG-40 2 pages
Garden and growing · GG-45
Frost and Winter Damage Record
A free printable frost damage record: the winter's lowest reading and cold spells, then each damaged plant with its protection, damage, cut-back date and regrowth.
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One page. Choose your paper size — both versions are laid out identically, so neither one gets shrunk to fit.
Print it and write on it
Fill it in type and save
The fillable versions have real form fields — open them in any PDF reader, type into them and save. Printing help.
What this sheet is for
Base next winter's protection on what died, recovered or came through in your own garden. A hardiness label is a guide; this sheet is the record of your plot.
Who it is for
Gardeners with tender, borderline or newly planted shrubs, perennials, fruit and pot plants that a hard winter can catch out.
How to use it
- Write the winter's lowest reading and the cold spells at the top, from your own thermometer and notes.
- List each damaged plant, where it grows, how it was protected and what damage you saw, with the date.
- Wait for the frosts to pass before cutting back, and record the date you did.
- Note when regrowth first showed, how the plant ended up, and what you will do differently next winter.
What is on the sheet
One page, top to bottom:
Printed under the title: What the winter did in your own garden: the coldest reading and the cold spells, then each damaged plant with how it was protected, when it was cut back, whether it regrew and what to do next winter.
Give it time before deciding. Damage on woody plants can take weeks or months to show, so do not write a plant off at the first look: wait for the frosts to pass before cutting back, and record when regrowth first shows. No hardiness ratings or temperatures are printed; the readings are your own thermometer's.
Write-on lines: Garden · Winter of · Lowest reading · On (date) · Read where · Frost spells (dates) · Snow (dates) · Also: wind, wet, late frost
Damaged plants — one row per plant
Table, 11 rows: Plant · Where · Age · Protection · Damage seen · Seen on · Cut back · Regrowth · Outcome · Next winter
Questions
When can I tell whether a frosted plant is dead?
Often not for months. Damage on woody plants can be slow to show, and regrowth can come from low down late in the season. The sheet has a regrowth column so you can wait and record what happened rather than dig a plant out too soon.
Why are no hardiness ratings or temperatures printed?
Because how a plant copes depends on its age, its position, the soil, wet and wind as much as on the lowest reading. The readings on this sheet are your own thermometer's, and the outcome column is the result for your garden.
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