What to do with cold-injured plants

Much of the country has seen record low temperatures at times this winter. My garden was no exception. Back in mid-January, temperatures dipped below zero several times over the course of two weeks. The result was some major winter burn on even my more cold hardy plants.

You might be wondering, "Is my plant dead? Or can I trim off the brown and it will bounce back?" There's a way to find out. With either your fingernail or the edge of a coin, gently make a small scrape in the bark on a stem of the plant. If you see green, the plant is still alive and will bounce back when it pushes new growth this spring (they would benefit from some pruning and an application of fertilizer; I like the organic fertilizers made by Espoma...HollyTone, TreeTone, GardenTone, etc.) However, if you see no green after checking several areas of bark, then the plant is most likely dead and gone and you can remove and discard the plant.

If the plant is still alive but much of it has suffered winter burn (dry, brown foliage), you can give the plant a hard shearing, or pruning to about 10 to 12 inches (this does not apply to pines, spruces, and firs as they do not grow back well from a hard pruning). Also, if you haven't mulched your plants before, I would recommend a 1 inch layer of natural (not dyed!) shredded hardwood, pine bark, or pine straw to help insulate the roots.