Ever since the cold and snow in February, gardeners have been worried about the state of their gardens. The questions keep rolling in. The answer across the board has been wait and see what happens when new growth begins. New growth is beginning
and we are seeing some promising results. Not every plant in the garden has started to sprout, so we need to continue to be patient. But the most surprising so far in my garden is the big leaf hydrangeas--they can die back in a normally cold winter, and this cold was anything but normal.
Almost all of my branches are sprouting from the tips, which means unless we get a late cold snap, I can expect to see blooms this summer.
I have quite a few different varieties of azaleas, and the level of damage varies by variety.
I do think I will have some tip dieback on a few, but for the most part, I expect to see blooms later this month. The buds look intact, and feel firm, so I am hopeful.
My normally evergreen abelias shed most of their leaves, but they are beginning to sprout out.
I had nandina and pineapple guava that lost are normally evergreen that also shed all their leaves,
which is a good sign. Shedding the damaged leaves tells me there is life left in the stems, and I expect to see them leafing out in the next few weeks. Unfortunately I am not as optimistic about my loropetalum.
Again, I have about 4-5 different varieties, and some are looking pretty bleak. My largest is dropping leaves heavily, which again, is promising, but time will tell. I will not prune until I know where to prune.
Plants are waking up slowly, but the fact that they are coming alive is a very positive thing. Unfortunately, we have seen no damage to Bradford pears which are in full bloom now,
and forsythia are blooming, along with many camellias. We may have lost a few blooms, but many dormant buds are putting on a show now.
Daffodils,
hyacinths and snowdrops are blooming beautifully along with tulip magnolias,
so we are having color in the garden. Be patient and give your plants a chance to get growing. I do think some plants will need a bit more corrective pruning, but there is plenty of time for that later. For now, enjoy the signs of spring and start gardening!