We are now over a month from the freezing weather and many of your plants have not leafed back out. Others have started to leaf out and most of these plants will recover. I know you want to know now if your plantings will survive but it is still too early to make that call.
As I explained in last month’s newsletter, the extreme cold temperatures, down to -2 degrees F in some areas, are not temperatures our plants are used to experiencing. Unfortunately, some plants growing in this area will not survive these temperatures. Other plants will survive but with variable types of damage including leaf drop, dead wood, and splitting of stems and branches. Some plants will regrow from the roots.
I have said all of this to encourage each of you to be patient with this process. Most of us are short on patience due to the circumstances of the past year, but this situation also calls for patience.
For the plantings in your yard, I have the following suggestions:
• Do not cut back any of your brown and dead looking plants at this time. Wait a few weeks to see if new buds break out from the stem. If you see new growth, then cut back to where the new buds are developing and wait to see if these plants continue to come out and grow.
• Just because your plant is brown, it does not mean it is dead. Plants can leaf back out on the stems.
• Your perennials can also regrow from the root system if plant tops have been killed by the cold weather. If you see no regrowth by April, cut these plants back to the ground and wait a little longer to see if they push new growth. Again, patience is needed.
• Water all your plants when needed and continue to water and fertilize to encourage regrowth. Do not let them stress from drought. Recent rains have been beneficial.
• Many of the brown leaves on your trees will begin to fall or may have already fallen, and that is good. Some trees have already started to leaf out while other trees are slow to drop leaves and leaf out. Be patient! If trees have freeze damage, this will start to show up on outer branches and trunks as we go through the stress of the summer. If you have broken branches in your trees, remove back to connecting branches. Do not leave stubs.
• Fertilize your turf and beds with a high nitrogen fertilizer to encourage re-growth. Apply as per the label.
• Do not remove any plants or trees at this time. Continue to wait for a plant to leaf out. If shrubs or perennials leaf out from the base, then cut plants back to new growth.
• Plants that are slow to recover are Indian Hawthorne, Loropetalum, Wax Myrtle, Pittosporum, ornamental grasses, perennials, Asian jasmine, liriope and St. Augustine grass. This is a short list. Continue to be patient and do not remove. Wait until you see if plants begin to leaf out.
I will continue to provide updates on plant materials throughout the upcoming months. For now, patience is needed. It will take time to resolve all the freeze damage problems in your yard and in the common areas.