WHAT HAPPENED TO THE SNOW?
As of 2/7, we have yet to see any snow. The 30 seconds at the start of the new year doesn’t count. Fortunately, we have had some rain, but that’s no substitute for the insulating and slow absorption qualities of snow. So, what will our unusual weather mean for our plants? You may be surprised to learn that what the experts fear most was the sudden severe drop in temperatures during December. It occurred much too fast for many of our plants to react. We can expect to see a significant amount of dieback, especially with respect to the evergreens. With somewhat mild weather, it’s so tempting to go into our gardens to start cleanup activities, getting a bit of a jump start on spring. PLEASE HOLD BACK. We won’t know the full effect of the dieback until the plants actually start to leaf out. Some of our plants’ extremities may come back to life in the spring. And some of our plants will be dead.
If your plants are dead, instead of going into a deep depression, look at it as an opportunity to try something new. You plant-a-holics out there know exactly what I mean.
One helpful source for this update is the….Volunteer Gardener. For further information and a discussion of the biology involved, please go to the end of this entry.
SNOW & ICE
Try to brush heavy snow off of evergreen trees and shrubs. If allowed to stay, the snow could cause abnormal spreading between branches. Such damage is frequently seen in Boxwoods, Arborvitae and Upright Junipers and ‘Sky Pencil’ Japanese Holly. If desired, you can bind the plants with twine, fishing line or vinyl coated wire before the first snowfall. Though somewhat visible, it will protect the plants without your help. The binding can easily be removed in the spring.
Unfortunately, there is nothing you can do about ice. If you attempt to break off the ice, you are likely to damage the plant even more. Just hope the ice melts as quickly as possible. In the spring, careful pruning can fix most of the winter damage. New spring growth will take care of the rest.
THINKING ABOUT ADDING TO YOUR LANDSCAPING IN THE SPRING? It’s not too soon to give me a call. I’ll be happy to help you with your plans.
DO CONTACT YOUR LANDSCAPE CONTRACTOR NOW. If you know there’s a real good chance that you will have winter damage that will need attention this spring, do try to get a date on your contractor’s schedule. The schedule for the spring will be filling up quickly, especially as soon as the weather breaks. If you have a special occasion coming up this season, do share that information with your contractor. They will usually try to accommodate these requests.
The DEER will be voracious. Spray everything on the first sunny day we have, and the temperature is above 40. Be on the lookout for browsing in case you will need to take more drastic measures, such as wrapping your shrubs with deer mesh. Check existing deer mesh for holes. In one case, the deer made a slit near the bottom, and came in under the fence.
Stay warm, and remember, you can always call if you have any questions.
THE FULL DISCUSSION FROM THE VOLUNTEER GARDENER…
Dramatic Winter Damage Video – from Volunteer Gardener
“Many friends are beginning to post photos of damage to plants, like these Aucuba in my garden, from this weekend’s record cold. The real problem for most plants was not the cold itself, but the extreme and rapid drop in temperature. At my house, it dropped from 53 degrees at 3 p.m. to 0 degrees at 3 a.m. When this happens, plants–and especially broadleaf evergreens– don’t have time to react. Normally, they would draw more water down into their roots, increase the concentration of sugars in their leaves (antifreeze for evergreens), or both. This helps to keep ice crystals from forming inside of plant cells.
In a flash freeze like we experienced this week, the plants don’t have time to react and the water inside the cells of the plants freezes. Ice crystals are pointed and sharp and, since water expands as it freezes, push outward puncturing the cell walls as they go. Enough cell damage = tissue damage. Enough tissue damage = plant damage/death (sometimes partial, sometimes total, depending on the plant and the situation). Leaves usually take the brunt of the damage, but in some plants, stems may also be damaged. This damage usually takes longer to show up; sometimes months. The key, now, is patience. Do not prune. Wait. The full extent of this damage is not going to be known until spring, and maybe beyond. If the stems have not been damaged, many plants will leaf back out. Even so, it may take a full season or two for some plants to recover. We will also see damage in deciduous trees and shrubs. You can count on it. Thin-barked species like crape myrtles, Japanese maples, and others may have suffered damage that will be completely hidden until they try to leaf out in spring. Small stems, less than 3/4″ or so in diameter may have been killed outright in more tender species. You may also see bark damage in the form of splits or cracks running up the stems/trunks, or dead patches of bark (which usually turns black). Depending on the extent and location of this damage, you may see the death of some or all of the stems or, in the worst case, tree trunks and the resulting death of the tree. In a similar situation in Tennessee in the late 80’s, mature ‘Nellie R. Stevens’ hollies (and many other species, both native and non), crape myrtle, etc. were killed completely to the ground. Don’t be surprised if it happens again, especially on recently planted and/or younger and less-established plants.”
Additionally, NC Cooperative Extension program is hosting a zoom webinar on Vascular Streak Dieback on Feb. 27th 2023 from 9:30am – 12pm. I’ve attached the QR code and brochure here if you’d like to join.
