Winter Damage

Written in mid June (poster is lax!):

It's always interesting talking with customers about their gardening experiences and that's certainly the case this year.  The awful winter really had an impact on yards and gardens.We have heard lots of tales of the "Big 3" this year.

First - butterfly bushes.  Most people had the same experience as we did - the roots survived, but everything above ground dies.  John had to take the chainsaw to cut off the dead limbs at the ground.  Our biggest one was 15 years old and well established.

Second - Hydrangeas.  Several people asked what happened to the hydrangeas in front of our house, thinking we had taken them out.  Just had to cut them back substantially - to about 18" - which is way more than we ever did before.  The plants themselves look pretty good.  I'm pretty sure they will survive although I doubt thay will bloom much at all this year.

Third - Crape Myrtle.  We don't have any, but everyone that does is concerned.  I talked to folks during the first week of June who didn't have any new growth on them yet.  Others said theirs' had just begun to push out.  The ones in protected locations seemed to suffer less than those out in the open.

Another casualty for us was one of the four jasmines we have on the sides of the pergola.  Three survived, although with substantial die-back, including one with new growth only at the base.  The ones on the protected side of the pergola did better.

On the other hand, all the rain and relatively cool temperatures this spring were a boon to other plants.  Herbaceous perennials like salvias, black-eyed Susan, coneflowers, rose campion, plumbago and poppies came back lush and full.  Some woody-stemmed herbs like savory, hyssop and most of my thymes came back well after some hard pruning.  Lavenders really seemed to take a hit this winter.  A couple I ripped out and most I had to cut back very hard - more than usual, but with the top dead and new growth at the base, that's about the only choice.