Can I plant my magnolia & viburnum- beast from east 2023

[Notsogreatexpectations]

Just that really, not sure I've spelled virbonium right, also known as a snowball tree... I also have pyracantha to plant... but don't want to plant them if we're going to get this big freeze the media keeps going on about?

I have both of these in my garden although the viburnum is in a protected corner. Pyracantha is practically bomb-proof. I guess it depends what part of the country you're in & which way your garden faces?

I idea on the plants but this is the first I've heard of the temperature dropping. Really not looking forward to that!

Pyracantha aside then...it'll be in a sheltered spot anyway....
The magnolia and virbinium will be exposed ish...couple of nearby bushes but on a hill as that's where we live!

I fleece my tender plants. Which magnolia do you have? Magnolias are pretty tough, it's more if they go into flower the frost can turn the flower brown, and can damage buds.
Which viburnum do you have? Again similar with magnolia, they are generally quite tough (but some varieties are less hardy) it's more buds and flowers which get damaged by frost.
I'd stall on the pyracantha though, in my experience they are more tender.

So it's magnolia soulangeana and viburnum opulus

When is this big freeze expected? Not heard anything about it

The big freeze is far from definite. There is a sudden stratospheric warming underway which could mean s peroliod of very cold weather. Or ot could mean mild weather. Or just normal. Apparently it isn't clear yet.

I'd keep the plants in their pots and in a protected position in your garden for now @Notsogreatexpectations

i haven't heard of any adverse conditions but there's no point planting them until March. No rush!

We are never 100% safe from having a frost, 2020 was a nice warm spring/summer, yet I lost 16 tomato plants to frost on the 1st of May. Why not get in a roll of fleece so you can protect your plants if cold is predicted?

I wouldn't plant them out just yet, we could still get hard frosts for a while and newly planted out plants are far more at risk of damage. From mid/late-March is usually safer, and the ground starts warming up which makes it more hospitable for plants to grow too.

I lost so many plants in the December cold snap, including (unusually) some foxglove babies I'd just planted out. So annoying!

They won’t come to harm if left for a month somewhere sheltered then they’ll have time to establish over the spring and summer. Magnolias do better in sheltered conditions. Can yo create any with hedges or temp windbreak….while some shelter gets established…?

Are they in pots or bare root? If bare root, you’ll need to heel them in, ie open a slit in the ground, drop them in, and close it up again.