We stood and
watched two-and-a-half-inch hail devastate the landscape around us within
minutes. All efforts of the growing
season gone. Yet, in the aftermath,
there is reason for optimism. Most
vegetables are resilient. Take the
local community garden for example, even the broad-leaved plants in our
landscapes most affected can be resilient.
The silver lining is if 50 percent or more of the leaves remaining on the
broad-leaved plants, they have the opportunity to produce food for the plant
to survive. Broad-leaved plants such
as daylilies can survive. In fact, at
various public places I’ve worked, we intentionally cut the daylilies back
after they bloomed then watered and fertilized them. They produce a second bloom by late August
and September. I don’t recommend this
every season. This is forcing a plant
to bloom out of season and not the best cultural practice.
|
The native coneflower came through the storm like a champ! |
One other optimistic
note after a severe storm, is if you have lots of native plants in your
garden, it seems that they did better than any of the non-native herbaceous
perennials, biennials and annuals. Amazingly the native plants of the Plant
Select™ Program fared the best in the Sedgwick County Courthouse Colorado,
landscape. These include:
- Diascia
integerrima
‘P009S’ Coral Canyon Twinspur
- Penstemon x
mexicali 'P008S', Red
Rocks Penstemon
- Clematis scottii, Scotts
Sugarbowls that faced the wind and hail head on came through with only a
couple of seed heads pruned off the plant.
- Fallugia
paradoxa,
Apache Plume
- Ceroearpus
intricatus,
Littleleaf Mountain Mahogany
- Ratibida
columnifera,
Prairie Coneflower
- Nepeta “Pskite” PP 18,904 made
it through with some tattered leaves as well.
- Echinacea
purpurea,
Purple Coneflower also made it through with just a few leaves tattered.
There are a lot
of other natives that would do well, these are just those we can testify to in
the hail aftermath. Natives do not need any fertilization.
|
Apache plume is tough as nails....what hail?! |
There are many
methods to heal what is wounded by storm damage; I would suggest the
following:
Herbaceous
perennials that had prolific flower stalks: prune those back to good growth
if there are any good leaves left on the stalks. If there are basal leaves or
a rosette at the base of the plant, just prune the stalks to just above the
basal leaves or rosette. If the rosette or basal leaves are damaged give a
light fertilization. This will give plant
further energy for growing new leaves.
|
Master Gardener Joe Stan examining garlic following the hailstorm. |
Annuals: you may
just have to call it quits, especially if nothing grows back in a week. Examine them to see if there is anything
left to grow and fertilize. Sometimes
with petunias, snapdragons and violas, you may find that they get severely damaged,
yet there is still a mass of leaves to grow again and flower. With the petunias, pruning will be
helpful. Other annuals such as zinnias
can be pruned. There is still enough
time in the season. I am recommending
to lightly fertilize annuals once a week.
On that note,
too much nitrogen in the soil increases the mineral salt content. Excessive salt can dehydrate the
plant. The symptoms would be burning
or yellowing of the leaf margins. The
best thing to do is to water and wash the excess nitrogen in the soil. Nitrogen moves quickly through the
soil. Excess nitrogen will slow root
development.
|
Our garden of greens following the hail. |
Biennials: enjoy
what is left because if they are flowering this will be the last year you
will see them. You will need to start
over next season.
Shrubs: prune
out what is damaged and during the very hot days of summer give them a deep
root watering. The timing for pruning
won’t be perfect for some shrubs and you may lose next year’s flower
buds.
Trees: prune out
what is damaged and during hot dry periods such as an extended drought give
them an extra deep root watering, but do not fertilize them. It makes sense to remove the branches that
are hanging first and make nice clean cuts.
Then examine the tree for any other severe hail damage and prune
properly. Even if your tree looks very
thin, give the tree time, it will grow new leaves.
Fruit trees:
remove the damaged fruit. The damaged
fruit will attract pests. Again, look
to see if there are any hanging branches and other severely damaged hail
wounds on limbs that might not heal quickly.
Open wounds are an easy entry for pests and diseases for trees and
shrubs.
In answer to the
question, “a reason for optimism after hail?” We have witnessed the wounds of
severe hail, now we can apply optimism towards what remains on the landscape
and heal. It is hard work, and that,
in part, is what gardeners do!
|
Very helpful information, Linda. Gives us CMG's something concrete to suggest to our clients wherever they're experienced this type of discouragement.
ReplyDeletePhyllis, Larimer County MG
I had a hail storm a few years ago that made my mid summer vegetable garden look as though a rogue weed eater had taken it out. It came back better than ever and was perhaps the best garden I have ever had.
ReplyDelete