Are your plants late bloomers?
It’s springtime. The birds are chirping, bees are buzzing, flowers are blooming…aren’t they? If you’re thinking that you blew your chances at winning “gardener of the year” because your flowers, trees, plants and shrubs aren’t quite as colorful and perky as you expected, don’t worry. Well at least not yet. After a hot summer and a shocking freeze (snow? In Austin?), those poor little guys might just be a little late on the rebound. But can you really blame them?
If this is the case for your landscape, Richard Fadal, who we proudly call our Green Gardener, has put together a couple ways to tell if those plants still have some fight left in ‘em:
- Break off part of a small branch or stem. If it snaps readily, keep breaking off pieces closer and closer to the main trunk or to the ground. You know the plant’s alive when the stem becomes flexible and difficult to break.
- Scratch the bark off a stem or limb and look for green growth underneath.
If you found signs of life, congratulations! Your plant isn’t dead, it’s just a late bloomer. Think of it as the plant version of those 24-year-olds you know who still live in mom’s basement and haven’t washed their ninja turtle sheets in 11 months.
If that wasn’t the case, you can still give it one last ditch effort—consider this the emergency resuscitation (and don’t bother looking for a DNR bracelet—plants aren’t as emotionally complicated as us humans). Here’s what you need to do: prune much of the plant down and spray with a seaweed solution. Water the plant thoroughly and deeply. Then just sit back and wait for the H2O to work its magic. If you don’t see results right away, don’t give up. Watch the plant for budding until late May before calling the battle a loss.
If you must replace dead trees, shrubs, or perennials, do so before the weather gets too hot and remember to water thoroughly and deeply so you can keep your green friends alive and healthy for years to come.
Check out the video version of this advice on how to tell if your plants are dead at WeAreAustin.com.
Did you have a late bloomer this season? You’re not alone! Tell us about it and see what others have to say—isn’t sharing the best form of medicine?
This entry was posted on Monday, May 10th, 2010 at 9:15 PM and is filed under Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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