Now that the trees and shrubs are greening up, what do you do if you have a plant that isn’t greening up like it used to? What if part of it looks dead but other parts don’t? Let’s talk about how to tell if you plant was damaged from the cold during the winter and what to do about it.

It seems like every year now; we are seeing more and more winter damage on our plants. Part of the reason for that would obviously be the colder than normal temperatures we experience during the winter, but another part is likely attributable to our purchasing plants that are borderline appropriate for our growing zone.

For example, most of us remember the great crapemyrtle die off we experienced a few years ago. We had a cold snap that was not typical for our area and our crapemyrtles couldn’t take that type of cold. Crapemyrtles are rated for growing zones 7-10. Tulsa is in growing zone 7b which means our average cold temperatures should be somewhere around 5 to 10 degrees. However, it seems like each winter we have a few days that are down in the minus 5 to minus 10 degree range which can cause us some problems.

When we purchase plants like a crapemyrtle that is rated right on the border for our growing zone, we should just accept that we are going to lose a few of these plants from time to time due to the cold. That’s just the way it is due to our fluctuating weather.

If you have plants that are not greening up, the best plan is to continue to wait a while before doing anything drastic. Most of them should be showing signs of life, but some are just late bloomers, so give them some more time.

However, if it gets to be the middle of May and you are not seeing any new growth, you have some decisions to make. If you just have a few branches that appear to be lifeless, you can prune those out and leave the others. This would also apply to branches that are green toward the base but apparently dead out toward the ends. You can cut the ends off those.

If you have a plant that isn’t greening up at all by mid-May, it’s probably time to think about replacement. When replacing, consider plants that have a zone 7 rating in the middle of their recommendation rather than near the upper limit. This will help ensure survival when we get those crazy cold bursts in the winter.

We have a nice guide for suggested shrubs for Oklahoma on our website (www.tulsamastergardeners.org) under the Lawn and Garden Help/Trees and Shrubs section. Good luck.

You can get answers to all your gardening questions by calling the Tulsa Master Gardeners Help Line at 918-746-3701, dropping by our Diagnostic Center at 4116 E. 15th Street, or by emailing us at mg@tulsamastergardeners.org. Photo: Tom Ingram