Ok, I have to say the recent waves of hard January freezes here in the American South were no joke (unlike the cancelled school days declared by the county, “In an abundance of caution”). So now that the sun is out, I’m walking the dog again and we are north of 45° F, I like to see what survived and what did not.
Much of my potted lavender clearly did not make it while my camellias and gardenias came through like the strong southern lady I knew my mother to be. My sister in Fairhope, AL told me the leaves on her orange tree withered but her mint seemed to be standing up and waving to her. God love our garden mint – nothing can take it down.
It has not gone unnoticed to me that the lemon cypress and lamium (not surprisingly a member of the mint family) that I planted in many of my clients’ fall garden containers looks just as good as it did in October. Noted, lemon cypress and lamium, you stay on my fall planting list.
So, my caution is this – put your clippers away and resist any temptation to cut the dead back. Don’t touch your roses yet. Leave the slightly burned gardenia leaves, wilted euphorbia and lavender alone. For now, make a note of what survived and what did not. Go ahead and pull out the completely dead annuals that are pasted to the side of your containers (that’s you pansies). But do not clear out the leaves and mulch around bedded plants as that will continue to provide a necessary blanket should we get another snap in February. And in this climate – all bets off as to what can happen between now and Easter.
Drop me a note and let’s talk about what we can do now to create a garden space you will love come spring.
Back to the garden,
Jennifer
