Your landscape may look terrible from last weekend’s bitter cold. Wilting, blackened leaves and stems are common. Some plants, particularly tender annuals, tomatoes and peppers have turned to mush, even if you were able to cover them...
Your landscape may look terrible from last weekend’s bitter cold. Wilting, blackened leaves and stems are common. Some plants, particularly tender annuals, tomatoes and peppers have turned to mush, even if you were able to cover them.
While there’s nothing to do for the annuals except to replant at the proper time, (near the end of April when the soil is warm), most of our other plants will recover. Be patient as the damaged leaves fall and new buds are produced.
Limp foliage of Hostas, Daylilies and other perennials can be gently cut with scissors or shears to allow new foliage to emerge. In some cases, only the tips of Daylilies and Iris leaves were damaged. Trim these at an angle to make the damage less obvious.
New growth on Hollies, Tea Olives and some other evergreens was damaged. If new shoots are wilted, clip them just above a good leaf if you wish to clean them up a bit. If shoots are firm, chances are that they will sprout new buds. If they brown in the next month or so, it’s time enough then to do the pruning.
Loropetalums, Crapemyrtles, Butterfly Bushes, Roses and many other deciduous shrubs have black or wilted leaves, and the stems may or may not be damaged. As with the evergreens, if the shoots are wilted, you can clip them off. Otherwise, the plants will put out new leaves and should bloom normally.
Some of our Hydrangeas have been severely damaged, losing not only leaves but also shoots and flower buds. Some, such as Hydrangea arborescens (‘Annabelle’ is the most common) and PeeGee types such as ‘Pink Diamond’ should bloom normally this summer since they bloom on new wood.
Most Mophead and Lacecap Hydrangeas bloom on old wood, the wood that formed last year. Because of that, bloom this year may be a total failure. On plants in protected areas, some of the lower branches may still be ok and bloom, but later than normal. Newer, repeat blooming cultivars such as ‘Endless Summer’, ‘Penny Mac’, the “Forever and Ever” series and ‘Blushing Bride’ bloom will bloom on both old and new wood, so you should have plenty of bloom from them this summer.
Some needled evergreens had put out new “candles” of growth that were damaged. Time will tell, but if you suddenly see tip browning, suspect the freeze first.
Trees generally have good powers of recovery, though young trees, construction-damaged trees and Japanese Maples may have been set back very severely. Arborists I’ve spoken to caution not to fertilize them, especially with a high-Nitrogen fertilizer (including that used for lawns) because that will cause the trees to use up their reserves more quickly. If in doubt, contact a Certified Arborist.
With all damaged plants, pay close attention to watering, as drought-stressed plants are less likely to revive. Remember that we are under permanent statewide water restrictions and some counties have additional rules.
In addition, remember that just because you “may” water on certain days of the week doesn’t mean that you “should” water on all of those days. In general, choosing one day per week is fine, and for many plants, watering every other week or every third week is fine. Some mature plants will need no supplemental watering except in periods of severe drought. The University of Georgia has wonderful publications that will help you decide how much to water. See http://www.caes.uga.edu/publications/ or contact your local Extension Office 1-800- ASK-UGA1
April 10, 2007 Daryl Pulis www.MrsGreenThumb.com
