It's been five months since the winter cold killed off most of our normal flora, and there are still questions about what to do with damaged plants. All southern gardeners are advised to be patient and wait for it to survive.
While some gardeners start trimming "dead" trees as early as January, many of us still have dead plants in our gardens, but patience pays off.
Most gardeners seem to have figured that when spring officially arrived, everything would start growing right away. While some plants seem to make a quick and full recovery, others are just having a good time; But surprisingly, we still see new shoots starting to sprout every week.
from the earth
Several fig trees in north central Arkansas froze and fell to the ground. Some started breeding a month ago, others are now taking root.
Less hardy shrubs like banana bush (Magnolia figo) and pineapple guava (Feijoa Sellowiana) also freeze to the ground, but also start new growth from the roots.
The same can be said of the large-leaved hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla). All new growth comes from the base, not the old wood.
For any plants in your garden that have lots of new growth at the base and nothing at the top, it's time to cut back any dead branches to make room for the new growth. Be careful when pruning to avoid damaging the tender new growth when you remove the old dead wood.
Watch out for new growth this season, especially on trees or large shrubs. It does not need many stems or branches and may require mid-season thinning to get the plant back to its desired shape.
Tea gardens and olive trees
Many gardeners have already pruned or removed dead gardenia and tea olive bushes, but most are starting to put new leaves along the old stems. In some, new leaves with root processes appear on the stems. There is some dead wood on the plants and at the ends of the branches, but it does let some new leaves grow.
Remember that green leaves use sunlight during photosynthesis to produce food that feeds the rest of the plant. Let them grow and see how many leaves come out before they form. Who knows, we might be surprised by some of the latecomers.
AZALEA, Lorapetalum
Most of the azaleas and uropetalums have put out new leaves, many of which have flowered this spring, but they need some pruning to encourage full bloom. In azaleas, most of the new growth is on top with some leaves inside. While you usually have until mid-June to finish pruning, I recommend pruning early this year to give the plants more time to recover.
Broadleaf plants have dormant buds along the stem. When the tops of the stems are removed, this encourages the dormant shoots to sprout, causing the foliage to fall up and down the stems. Adjust the cutting height of the cuttings to encourage full bloom and better blooms the following spring. Remember that spring flowering plants lay buds from late August to September.
Now fertilize all your bushes and water lightly when they are dry.
Look at the pieces
The leaves of mat and vitex myrtle were slower to germinate and some were more affected by winter than others. Hollis and Lightning were hit hardest in upstate our state, but they're also coming back.
When shaping and pruning any shrubs, look for cracks or splits in the trunks, which means the trunks have frozen and split. Cut the stems apart.
Daragi is gone
While it is true that more plants are growing this season than we thought, there may still be losses. Most of the rosemary bushes are dead along with a large percentage of the lavender.
[No show? Click here to see photos: arkansasonline.com/520grow ]
The Show: Winter 2023 Returns
Camellia!
I'm sure we lost a few camellia bushes, but I have a root. I cut off the dead tops of Camellia sasanqua and Camellia japonica.
Surprisingly, we experience more damage and losses in Camellia sasanqua than Camellia japonica, and traditionally japonica is less hardy than sasanqua. Why? The only theory that makes sense to me is that the japonica species were in a more dormant state when the temperature dropped, while the sasangoa plants were in their early blooms and actively growing. We went from a moderate freeze to a deep freeze within hours and then within days.
In over 40 years of working with plants, I have seen almost no damage to pine leaves or branches, and this year I have seen several plants that I thought were either dead or badly damaged. I'm still waiting, but I have little hope.
The Japanese forms have few dead ends, but grow new leaves along the stems and tips of many branches and rejuvenate. It was definitely a weird winter episode and if they don't grow I will replace the camellias.
to carry
The size of the plants in our gardens has changed so much this season that many of us are patiently allowing winter-damaged plants to grow and bloom. There are bound to be holes in our gardens and they can be filled in with new shrubs or temporary additions of tropicals, houseplants or annuals.
Our gardens need a little bit of TLC during this growing season. Water while it dries Now it's time to give your plants some fertilizer, all at once. "light" is the keyword. Do not overfeed or overfeed or you will burn your plants.
Everywhere I go people are asking about winter damaged plants and the possibility of this type of climate in our future in any season. I wish I had a crystal ball and could make predictions with some degree of accuracy, but I don't. Let's hope this was a once-in-a-lifetime freeze and that our parks are slowly recovering and getting back to normal.
Janet Carson's blog is at arkansasonline.com/planitjanet.
