Posted by eggplant on March 7, 2010, 1:28 pm
Hi everyone. Hope you've had a good gardening weekend. SO here's my
question.
It was a pretty atrocious winter. Here in S/W Kerry we had the most snow
and the
longest periods of frost since the sixties. Can you help me
make a hard
decision on whether my penstemmons failed to survive the
winter or whether I
need to be more patient?
There is absolutely no green anywhere and the twigs I have broken off
snapped
off cleanly - brittle with no bend at all. I'm more than a bit
ticked as they're
four years old. Does anyone feel they might bounce
back with more time. Its
really hard staring at dead plants. Thanks for
the advice.
--
eggplant
Posted by ntantiques on March 11, 2010, 1:03 am
wrote:
> Hi everyone. Hope you've had a good gardening weekend. SO here's my
> question.
> It was a pretty atrocious winter. Here in S/W Kerry we had the most snow
> and the longest periods of frost since the sixties. Can you help me
> make a hard decision on whether my penstemmons failed to survive the
> winter or whether I need to be more patient?
> There is absolutely no green anywhere and the twigs I have broken off
> snapped off cleanly - brittle with no bend at all. I'm more than a bit
> ticked as they're four years old. Does anyone feel they might bounce
> back with more time. Its really hard staring at dead plants. Thanks for
> the advice.
> --
> eggplant
I'll vote for patience...I'm in Oregon and my garden took a beating
this winter too. We had prolonged record sub-freezing temps, snow and
hit a low of 9 degrees which burst pipes all over town. At first look
my Penstemons (Sour Grape & Apple Blossom varieties) looked stone
dead.
Made a note to pull them, but when I went back to actually clean the
beds a week or two later, way down at the bottom of the very dead
stems I found the tiniest little green leaf buds. Have had them die
way back before and as long as there's a spark there, they seem to
recover and bloom vigorously. No harm in giving them a bit of time.
Nancy T
Posted by Cheryl Isaak on March 11, 2010, 7:09 am
On 3/11/10 1:03 AM, in article
2d5056e3-d3c7-44f9-9430-1ac3e2012204@q2g2000pre.googlegroups.com,
> wrote:
>> Hi everyone. Hope you've had a good gardening weekend. SO here's my
>> question.
>>
>> It was a pretty atrocious winter. Here in S/W Kerry we had the most snow
>> and the longest periods of frost since the sixties. Can you help me
>> make a hard decision on whether my penstemmons failed to survive the
>> winter or whether I need to be more patient?
>>
>> There is absolutely no green anywhere and the twigs I have broken off
>> snapped off cleanly - brittle with no bend at all. I'm more than a bit
>> ticked as they're four years old. Does anyone feel they might bounce
>> back with more time. Its really hard staring at dead plants. Thanks for
>> the advice.
>>
>> --
>> eggplant
>
> I'll vote for patience...I'm in Oregon and my garden took a beating
> this winter too. We had prolonged record sub-freezing temps, snow and
> hit a low of 9 degrees which burst pipes all over town. At first look
> my Penstemons (Sour Grape & Apple Blossom varieties) looked stone
> dead.
>
> Made a note to pull them, but when I went back to actually clean the
> beds a week or two later, way down at the bottom of the very dead
> stems I found the tiniest little green leaf buds. Have had them die
> way back before and as long as there's a spark there, they seem to
> recover and bloom vigorously. No harm in giving them a bit of time.
>
> Nancy T
I'm with Nancy - patience is a hard thing to council, but what change a week
or two might make.
Cheryl
Posted by Bill who putters on March 11, 2010, 10:04 am
> On 3/11/10 1:03 AM, in article
> 2d5056e3-d3c7-44f9-9430-1ac3e2012204@q2g2000pre.googlegroups.com,
>
> > wrote:
> >> Hi everyone. Hope you've had a good gardening weekend. SO here's my
> >> question.
> >>
> >> It was a pretty atrocious winter. Here in S/W Kerry we had the most snow
> >> and the longest periods of frost since the sixties. Can you help me
> >> make a hard decision on whether my penstemmons failed to survive the
> >> winter or whether I need to be more patient?
> >>
> >> There is absolutely no green anywhere and the twigs I have broken off
> >> snapped off cleanly - brittle with no bend at all. I'm more than a bit
> >> ticked as they're four years old. Does anyone feel they might bounce
> >> back with more time. Its really hard staring at dead plants. Thanks for
> >> the advice.
> >>
> >> --
> >> eggplant
> >
> > I'll vote for patience...I'm in Oregon and my garden took a beating
> > this winter too. We had prolonged record sub-freezing temps, snow and
> > hit a low of 9 degrees which burst pipes all over town. At first look
> > my Penstemons (Sour Grape & Apple Blossom varieties) looked stone
> > dead.
> >
> > Made a note to pull them, but when I went back to actually clean the
> > beds a week or two later, way down at the bottom of the very dead
> > stems I found the tiniest little green leaf buds. Have had them die
> > way back before and as long as there's a spark there, they seem to
> > recover and bloom vigorously. No harm in giving them a bit of time.
> >
> > Nancy T
> I'm with Nancy - patience is a hard thing to council, but what change a week
> or two might make.
>
>
> Cheryl
At least 1/3 of our azaleas have 2/3 leaf damage in the form of a
burn or dryness. They still bend a good sign BTW. Strange that some
are OK and others affected may be age related thou. This winter so far
was down to 6 F. where last year we had a -5 F. with no azalea
damage. Hmmmn.
I intend to wait and cut back as a last resort. Also in process of
replacing some as they are about 40 years old and have been fighting
borers all their lives.
About to remove leaves and construct a small light intensity plant
thingy.
Rumor has my brother next door intends to put three large commercial
greenhouse up next door. I may see If I can lease 20 sq. feet for
greens etc.
--
Bill Garden in shade zone 5 S Jersey USA
<http://www.globalissues.org/article/75/world-military-spending>
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> question.
> It was a pretty atrocious winter. Here in S/W Kerry we had the most snow
> and the longest periods of frost since the sixties. Can you help me
> make a hard decision on whether my penstemmons failed to survive the
> winter or whether I need to be more patient?
> There is absolutely no green anywhere and the twigs I have broken off
> snapped off cleanly - brittle with no bend at all. I'm more than a bit
> ticked as they're four years old. Does anyone feel they might bounce
> back with more time. Its really hard staring at dead plants. Thanks for
> the advice.
> --
> eggplant