All right it’s the middle of June and some plants did not
survive this past winter and others have been damaged; it’s called “winterkill”.
Winterkill is often used to describe loss of field crops
such as alfalfa, rye and winter wheat.
This year it’s being used to describe damage to bushes, trees and
perennials in the Midwest.
Large amount to evergreens have turned rusty colored
brown. This was due to a combination of
extreme cold being pushed by strong winter winds. Calm cold usually doesn’t kill – it’s the
wind that cinches the death and damage.
Combine that with two summers of drought conditions and it can be a deathblow.
Conifers and evergreens such as American Yew, arborvitae,
pine, spruce, hemlock and others all have suffered noticeable damage. The reason these are damaged more than
deciduous trees (they loose their leaves) is they loose moisture through their
“leaves” on sunny days. When the ground
is deeply frozen, they can’t take up more moisture to replace what’s lost. Foundation evergreens will suffer more
because they also get the hot reflection off the siding. Evergreens and
conifers planted close to roads will often die on the street side because they
have been hit with splashed or windblown salt spray.
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| Winterkill on holly bush. |
Check the trunk of deciduous trees to make sure there was no
rabbit damage. They can girdle an entire
trunk, which will kill a tree, Deer
damaged trees may survive if only branches and tips are ate.
At this point, if your shrub or tree is completely brown,
it’s probably not going to come back.
Try scratching the bark and if it’s green underneath, it may still be
alive. Alive may not actually mean you
have a good-looking tree because evergreens do not typically send out new
branches to replace lost. They may start
growing at the top and according to where it sits, that may be good
enough. I think it’s safe to say it will
never look the same. Also, a severely
damaged tree will be susceptible to disease and insect damage over the next
several years.
If your shrub or tree has only branches damaged, it’s safe
to remove that branch if there are no sprouts showing. Let nature cleanse your evergreens if only
the tips or some needles show brown.
Remember: white pines routinely
have loss of needles and that particular loss isn’t deadly. If they are putting on new candles, they are
surviving.
After you decide to remove a dead or severely damaged shrub
or tree, check out varieties that are resistant to winter kill. Don’t plant where they will be subject to
long periods of warm winter afternoon sun or salt spray.
Most experts don’t advocate anti-desiccant sprays because
they are too labor intensive and seldom really work. Wrapping a shrub in burlap may help as well
as putting up windbreaks. Don’t cover in
material that will hold winter heat during the day as that will cause it to
think it’s spring and the new growth will be. Killed.
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| (Middle) "Blue Hosta" stunted this year. |
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| (Middle) Blue Hosta where it is healthy and thriving. |
We’ve also seen some significant winterkill on hosta. I lost some and others seem stunted. Right next to this is a totally healthy and
thriving hosta. Experts can’t explain
why or how this happened in this way.
I’m doing the “2014 wait and see”.
I’m not digging where there was once hosta and I’m hopeful there will be
something in the ground waiting for next year to again reappear.
It’s a pretty good bet if your roses show no growth
whatsoever, they are dead and should be removed.
Japanese maples, flowering dogwood and Japanese flowering
cheery cultivars are usually only hardy to -20 degrees. If your trees were saved, it’s because they
were sitting in a microclimate.
On the other hand, some of my perennials, trees and bushes
have never been more healthy or thriving.
Enjoy this beautiful June 2014 – it’s been a bonus after a
tough winter.
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