Help your damaged plants find new life

Last month I told you to wait until at least the first of June before you made any decisions about damaged trees and shrubs in your landscape. Because it is just about that time, I thought I would let you know what my observations have been over the last month.

Most of the crape myrtles, hydrangeas and butterfly bushes have shown new life. The damaged ones have put on new growth from the soil line or on lower portions of shoots. Just let the new shoots continue to grow. Remove any old shoots that are still dead. Remove the old shoots as close to the ground as you can. If an old shoot has new foliage coming out on it, cut the old shoot back to where new shoots are coming out.

I'm sure that you have heard and read about grapevines in our area. Most of them have put on new shoots and are even producing grapes. Mother Nature has a way of taking care of her own.

The oaks in my yard have produced new leaves and the new shoots are elongating. Interestingly, many of the leaves on the trees seem to be much larger than normal. I have no scientific evidence to support this observation, but I think that this is a way for the trees to compensate for the loss of their initial foliage.

Perhaps most of you are concerned about Japanese maples. I have fielded more calls on this group of plants than on any other. Some survived and are doing well. Some have suffered some damage and need to be pruned to help them recover. Some have suffered so much damage that, even after pruning, they will never return to their original form. And some are dead.

Why the broad range in response to April's freeze? We sometimes forget that each Japanese maple is a unique plant in and of itself. Even though they may be planted near one another, the environmental conditions in one location are different than those of another location, be it ever so slight. This slight change in conditions may be the difference between life, death or damage.

If you have a Japanese maple that has suffered some damage, now is the time to get out the pruners and remove any dead wood. When removing the dead shoots, make your cut adjacent to a growing leaf. Do not just cut a branch and leave a stub. This will not only be unsightly, but may also be a point of entrance of disease or insects.

After you have eliminated all of the dead from the tree, take a good look at it and then make some decisions. You may have to remove some viable tissue just to get the tree back into a good form.

You may also think that the tree will never look good again and decide to remove the tree and start all over. No one can make this decision for you. You're on your own.

No matter what damaged tree or shrub you keep in your landscape this summer, make sure that it does not suffer from moisture stress. If we go two to three weeks without rain, then give those damaged trees and shrubs a good drink. A stressed tree or shrub that suffers from additional stress may not be able to make it.

Just because a landscape plant has suffered some late freeze damage doesn't always mean that it should be yanked out of the ground and replaced. Do some pruning on it, give it some fertilizer and water, and then wait. You may find out that your shrub or tree may come back and look better than ever.

Send your gardening and landscape questions to Paul Schnare at P.O. Box 699; Cape Girardeau, Mo. 63702-0699 or by e-mail to news@semissourian.com.