Q This is in Atlanta now. Any idea what it is? Very fragrant.
A The plant is Edgeworthia chrysantha, commonly called paperbush plant. It has interesting buds in late fall that bloom in the winter and smell sweeter than gardenias. A great shade plant for us. It can form a fairly substantial bush, up to 7 feet tall and wide at maturity.
Q The subzero weather has really done damage to most every shrub in the yard. What should we all expect when spring arrives?
A There are a lot of damaged plants out there after the deep freeze. Unfortunately, we won't know how much permanent damage we have until spring arrives. In fact, we may still see problems later in the summer. Some people are recommending going out and scraping the bark and looking for life. I have too many plants to even want to attempt to do that. My advice is to do what you would normally be doing in the garden. Prune your roses and summer-blooming plants as you would. Then ignore everything until new growth begins to come on. Roots are much tougher than leaves, so we can hope for mere leaf burn. Some plants will have stem die-back, and some could die to the soil line or the "snow line," and some may be simply dead. Give plants time to grow and then assess the real damage. We had an excellent example of how insulating snow is — many of the lower growing plants have come through in fine form.
Q My loropetalum tree has bloomed beautifully the last few years, however the trunk does not look very healthy to me. Since I am having to redo the entire bed I was wondering if I need to replace it also. Thanks for any input.
A Loropetalum really took a hit from this recent cold snap. While I am hoping that we just have burned foliage, I will not be surprised if we have some dieback. We won't know until new spring growth begins, so we just need to ignore the damaged plants for a while. The bark on your loropetalum is fine. Loropetalum bark peels in the way the bark of crape myrtles does when they are old enough. It is nothing to be concerned about. Let's revisit how it is doing in a couple of months.
Q The 2021 snowstorm brought hungry deer, and many of them, to my front yard in Heber Springs. For over 20 years my azaleas have remained untouched by deer, but now there is not a green leaf left on any azalea. They even feasted on my Japanese maples. Only stripped branches remain. Should I "hope" that warmer weather will bring rebirth this spring, should I prune now, or should I replant?
A I have heard many stories like these. Some had deer come right up to the porch to feed on container plants. Deer had a hard time foraging with all that snow. I would clean up the cut edges, making sure there are no ragged edges, then wait for new growth to begin. If plants didn't get frozen back, they should leaf back out and you can hope for blooms next spring.
Q My azaleas, gardenia and Knock Out roses all look like they have burns from the cold and snow. I live in west Little Rock. Do I need to cut out the burned leaves, and if so, when should I do this?
A Give your azaleas the opportunity to bloom this spring — some plants may have lost their blooms and some should still put on a show. Prune as needed after their bloom period is over. Gardenias set flower buds in the fall. If they were frozen back, you won't have too many blooms. Wait to prune until new growth begins. Knock Outs and all roses should be pruned now — as in any year. Prune them back by two-thirds now. These shrub roses don't need such precise pruning.
Retired after 38 years with the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service, Janet Carson ranks among Arkansas' best known horticulture experts. Her blog is at arkansasonline.com/planitjanet. Write to her at P.O. Box 2221, Little Rock, AR 72203 or email jcarson@arkansasonline.com