Are my daffodils now dead?

.... worried about all my plants this morning.

At the very south in Sussex all my daffodils, snowdrops, crocuses are flowering ... Most of my shrubs and tress are in bud ....

It was SO cold last night and this morning everything looks decimated :( The daffodils, who survived a few nights of frost, are lying on their side rock had/frozen solid!

Any chance of recovery? Anything I can do to help?

 

The Daffs will be fine - but if they were already flowering they might not carry on flowering, or not so well, this year. They'll be back next year though.

If you have tender plants they are at risk. Mulch the soil with straw / leaves and/or put some fleece over them. Bit late now though!

Your plants that made it through the last two winters will be fine; this winter they have had time to adjust to the cold, last year the cold was in November and plants were not ready.

But open flowers on some species may be wrecked I'm afraid.

 

Thanks Kristen ... gives me hope!

I don't really "do" tender plants, although I have a few potted figs I am a little worried about. They have had a thick bark mulch for quite a while already and are tightly squished together like that provides some magic warmth between plants. I should have moved them to the shed, but I didn't as too heavy to move on my own.

As you say, all a bit late now, but didn't realise the temp was going to drop quite as much as it did. It doesn't normally round here, regardless of weather forecasts so I've learned to

 

Insulating the pots helps - wrapping some bubble wrap around them - so slow the rate at which the cold gets into the rootball. But if it stays below freezing for several consecutive days (which it will be doing here ...) the bubble wrap won't keep the cold out.

I don't think your deciduous plants in pots will mind being in the shed for the whole winter. Leave it as late as you can in Autumn, keeping an eye on the forecast (this year it would probably have been Christmas or there abouts, last year mid November ...), and then get a burly young chap round to manhandle them into the shed (nice cup of tea should do it!) and get him back in the Spring

If you've got nice pots I'm afraid the cold may damage them too - another reason for getting them inside in another year perhaps.

keep the watering low during the cold snap - better the plants are too dry than wet and then frozen solid. Some little "chocks" under the pots so they are off the ground, and drain better, can help.