Frost flowers are thin layers of ice the develop around plants. Here's how they grow and where you can find them.
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00:00Well, take a look at this during the wintertime.
00:02I feel like snow gets a lot of the attention,
00:04but this is pretty cool, too.
00:06These are called frost flowers.
00:08It's thin layers of ice that develop around some plants.
00:12So let's talk about how they form.
00:14These layers are about as thick as a credit card.
00:16And to form, they need a couple things, freezing air
00:19temperatures, moist or wet soil that is not frozen,
00:23and a plant stem that has not been previously frozen.
00:26So this means the formation of frost flowers
00:28is really a once-a-year event.
00:30But not all plants capable of producing a frost flower
00:33will do this on the first day of good condition.
00:35So there's still time to see these.
00:37Now, let's break down exactly how these form.
00:41First, water from the ground is drawn upward
00:43through a plant stem.
00:44It starts to freeze because of the freezing air temperature.
00:47And when it does that, it expands.
00:49So the stem of the plant splits, and more of that water freezes.
00:54It creates these frost flowers that you
00:56see right there on your screen.
00:58And you might have noticed there's not one uniform shape
01:01for a frost flower because the ice curls unpredictably
01:04and forms so-called petals.
01:06Now, in some of this video, like right here,
01:08you can see these are very easy to crush.
01:11So it's not like this big block of ice.
01:13They're overall pretty fragile.
01:15So they don't last long.
01:17That's why it's a good idea to be like these people
01:19and take a picture or a quick video when you see them
01:22because they will melt.
01:23They will go away not long after you see them.
01:27So where can you find these frost flowers?
01:29Couple tips.
01:30Look for tall weeds, first of all,
01:32and locations that aren't mowed often.
01:34So head into the woods or near the woods.
01:37They're often your plants like purple ironweed, blackberries,
01:40and wing stem.
01:42So if you see any of them, grab a video.
01:45You don't see them every day.