Freeze Causes Damage To Early-Blooming Plants, Trees
Posted
Teresa Smith-tsmith@timesuniononline.com
Trees and shrubs and most perennials will recover from the damage caused by this spring's unseasonably warm weather.
Early blooming perennials can be fertilized and cutback for growth later this season, according to Kelly Easterday, Kosciusko County Agriculture and Natural Resources Extension educator. Easterday also is the county Master Gardener coordinator."Anything with a bloom above ground, well, it's not looking good," she said.
Early-blooming plants propagated from underground bulbs - tulips, daffodils, hyacinths - are most likely a lost cause if they haven't been protected the last couple of days.
"Remove the dead tissue," Easterday said. "Fertilize to encourage more green growth to feed the bulb ... for next year."
Bulbs with a bud still underground could bloom later this season.
The new growth emerging on trees and shrubs was especially susceptible to the strong winds and freezing temperatures.
Magnolia blooms and leaves shriveled and turned brown overnight. Healthy, well-established trees and shrubs have the ability to leaf out again if initial growth is damaged or destroyed.
Purdue Extension Educator Doug Acres of Boone County wrote about the damage in an e-mail forwarded to Master Gardeners. Damage will be severe on Japanese maple (Acer palmatum), yellowwood (Cladrastis kentukea), hydrangeas (Hydrangea spp.) and magnolias (Magnolia spp.).
"The 'smart' trees are the ones that stay dormant longer," Acres wrote, "like, the oaks, ash, birch, walnut, hickories and evergreens."
Trees and shrubs planted within the past five years may benefit from an application of high nitrogen fertilizer (46-0-0). If urea isn't available, a typical lawn fertilizer (23-4-8) is good.
"The lush growth on many perennials will also be damaged or destroyed. Damage will be especially severe on astilbes (Astilbe spp.), ferns, hostas (Hosta spp.) and other perennials."
Symptoms of freeze damage include shriveling and browning or blackening of damaged tissue. Damaged growth often becomes limp. Eventually, damaged or destroyed leaves may drop from the tree or shrub.
The prognosis for freeze-damaged perennials also is good. While the freezing temperatures should damage the perennials' first growth, their crowns and roots should not harmed. Perennials will generate up new growth in a few weeks.
