Love Your Landscape – March 2014
After a record-setting dry and cold winter with little-to-no precipitation and some of the coldest consecutive days on record, it’s a good idea to check how your plants have fared.
We’ve barely received enough moisture to keep temperamental plants alive through this dry winter. I found myself watering some of my plants in January to make sure they had enough water to get them through that dry spell.
But the greatest damage to local plants was caused by the unusually-persistent cold temperatures. Probably the most visible effects we see right now are the plants that were damaged by that severe cold. The true test to determine if plants will make it will be in spring when new growth appears.
At my home, we have two small Bay Laurels in the yard and most of the leaves have dried-up and turned brown because of the effects of the cold. One of the plants looks totally dead but the other may have a chance to pull through! And like I mentioned before, I’ll wait until spring to see if one or both will survive. Only time will tell.
Jacksonville and the Rogue Valley are located in planting zone 7. Most plants commonly used in the Rogue Valley are hardy in zones 5 or 6 or below. But some plants are right on the edge, and are only hardy to zones 7 or 8 and have a very hard time during prolonged cold spells. What can sometimes give plants an advantage is the amount of time they have been able to establish themselves. Of course, if it’s just too cold for too long, then it doesn’t matter how established the plant is… it will not survive. If you try and plant a species that is rated hardy in zone 8 or 9, it may survive for a while as long as we have very mild winters, but when a colder winter comes like this one, it may be too much for the plant to take. My recommendation is to choose plants that are hardy in our zone and enjoy this wide variety of available planting choices.
If you have plants in your yard that have been affected by drought or cold, I recommend waiting a while to see if they will come back. If some do need to be removed and replaced, I encourage you to look on the bright side… you have an opportunity to do some landscape design work and choose some great new plantings for your yard!
Adam Haynes is the owner of Artisan Landscapes, Inc. Contact him at 541-292-3285, adam@artisanlandscapesinc.com, or visit his website at www.artisanlandscapesinc.com.
Posted February 27, 2014
Adam Haynes is a resident of Jacksonville and the owner of Artisan Landscapes. Contact him at 541-292-3285.