Winter freeze gives way to new spring growth

By Leslie Gregory Haukoos   leslieh@theacorn.com

PROMISING--New blossoms on a nectarine tree in an Agoura Hills backyard hold the promise of a bountiful summer harvest.Photo: LESLIE HAUKOOS You see the signs everywhere. Brown trees and shrubs that look like there isn't a bit of life left in them; trash bins overflowing with dried-out foliage, planting beds swept clean following the winter freeze. But home gardeners are on top of the situation and have already visited the local garden shop to fill their SUVs full of fresh new plantings.

This is the spring following one of the coldest winters the area has seen in a long time. The chilling nights we endured might have made for good hot tea and fireplace evenings, but they wreaked havoc on local gardens.

Everyone knew not to cut back the damaged foliage until well after the threat of another freeze had passed, but it wasn't easy to determine just when that was in a climate-crazy year such as the legendary Winter of '07. But I believe it's safe to say that spring is finally here and it's time to trim.

Questions still remain: How do you know when something's really dead and not just deeply injured? Every gardener has theiown approach to this question. I tend to empathize with the plants and give them every chance to recover in the hope that some bit of life remains and they'll muster up what it takes to survive. Other gardeners are more of the whack-and-burn mentality: "If it don't look pretty now, toss it."

A carrotwood tree, badly burned during the winter freeze, shows signs of growth toward the bottom. Plants throughout the area are springing back to life following an unusually cold winter. Photo: JANN HENDRY I'd like to inject a story here. It's a story about a funky-looking potted ficus tree that an employer of mine was putting out with the trash one day in the early 1980s.

That Charlie Brown tree was about 5 feet tall and had all of 20 leaves. It was the scrawniest, homeliest beast I'd ever seen. I rescued that tree. Long story short, it recovered, thrived and lived until about a month ago when my friend had it removed because it was taking over her townhouse garden. (Good thing she didn't tell me about it until after the fact.)

Right now I have a couple of young citrus trees and two avocados that I believe are probably gone, but I haven't pulled them out yet, just in case. I probably go too far in that regard. A good fingernail scratch to the trunk of a tree should tell you if there's any life left. If you dig in and see only brown, the tree is gone. Rest in peace. But if you're not sure, give it a little more time. Maybe one round of feeding, then see what happens.

Most plants that have survived are already showing new growth. So, even if you're less of a bleeding heart than I, look carefully for signs of new growth before you yank and pull--please.

Then have at it with new planting. What a great excuse to spend a bundle at the local nursery, and isn't that what most of us home gardeners live for? Wandering up and down the aisles at Sperlings planning and dreaming and carefully choosing from among the rows of beauties--gets me all tingly just to think of it. And this year we have a great excuse for spending. Can't help it-- everything died in the Great Freeze of '07.

One word of advice: When you're out there investing in new plants, don't forget to load up on food for your bold survivors. They need some TLC and some good nutrition to beef up for another year. Rose food, azalea food, a little triple 16 for the general population.

While you're there, pick up a new pair of garden gloves. It's spring after all, and we've got work to do.