Spring officially began on Tuesday with freezing temperatures and frosty grounds, even patches of ice and snow. This came after a run of unusually warm weather in early March that had everyone enjoying the outdoors — and had some flowers blossoming and trees starting to bud.

This colder turn is unpleasant for humans, but can it be harmful to plants?

That depends, said Mandy Smith, an educator and master gardener coordinator with Penn State Extension.

With recent temperatures soaring into the 70s, many plants such as forsythia bushes, magnolia trees and daffodils have started blooming a little early. Smith also had heard reports that leaf budding has begun on plants like roses and lilacs. These early blooms are beautiful but can leave plants vulnerable when a cold snap occurs.

The sudden frost may be a concern for vegetation such as magnolia trees that blossomed earlier than usual. Some trees like red maples and Cornelian cherries and plants such as hellebores normally begin to blossom this time of year, but overall it’s been an early blooming March locally.

The biggest worry is for flowers that already are far along in their bloom. Especially with daffodils, the more swollen the buds, the more susceptible the flower becomes to freezing temperatures, Smith said.

“If they’re already in bloom, they may start to brown and wilt and not have that extended bloom time that they usually do,” she said.

It depends on the cultivar of the daffodil and the height of the plant, she said.

Mary Kruger, a Penn State Extension master gardener in Butler County, agreed that flowers with more height are at higher risk.

“Wind can cause taller varieties, or those in exposed areas, to bend, affecting longevity and bloom,” she said.

However, she said that “light snowfall will have little effect on daffodils.”

There are three types of daffodils that bloom at different times, Smith said.

“There’s early-season daffodils, there’s mid-season, and then there’s late season,” she said. The early daffodils usually bloom at the end of March, mid-season in the middle of April and late season in late April into early May. That timeline has been bumped up this year, but the later-blooming flowers can still thrive after the frost.

Damage to flowers that’s been done by the recent cold likely will shorten their bloom, but Smith has better news about plants and trees with emerging leaves.

“They’ll brown and basically die off, but trees produce more leaves. So even if those particular leaves may not survive, it might just be a lag time before you start to actually see some leaves on those plants,” she said.

Japanese maples are an example of trees that may do this.

Western Pennsylvania weather can be unpredictable, so this may not be the last freeze of the season.

“We can have frosts late into May,” Smith said.

Recommendations from the master gardeners will protect plants through chillier spring periods.

“To prevent damage to crops, a light, loose protective layer such as a row cover or a sheet of fabric can be used to protect blooms from frost and snow,” said Diane Dallos, a Butler County Extension educator for Penn State Extension.

“If you have something that you prize and you want to make sure it thrives over the season, you can always do something to protect that plant,” Smith said.

The secret is to be careful but also embrace the chaos.

Dallos encourages gardeners to wait past the first warm spells in spring to plant.

“Gardeners must continue monitoring weather forecasts and following planting guidance to prevent damage to tender plants like tomatoes, peppers, impatiens, zinnias and petunias,” she said.

As for those early blooms that may be cut short by the first day of spring chill?

“It is important to remember that we did get those days, we got to see plants in bloom,” Smith said. “We can’t control what happens with the weather, but keep those nice memories, and there will be more flowers blooming.”

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