The Crazy Weather And Your Landscape

The Crazy Weather Could Impact Your Landscape

The joke on social media this week has been that spring is missing and presumed kidnapped. This past weekend, temperatures dipped below freezing both nights. It is April for crying out loud. We should be feeling all warm and fuzzy.

What does all of this mean to your landscape plants?

For one thing, we hope you did not get suckered in by the big box stores like Lowe’s and Home Depot and purchase summer annuals and vegetables yet. They have had tomatoes, petunias, hibiscus and other warm season plants in stock for several weeks. Sorry. They are probably toast. The good news is that cool season plants such as dianthus, pansies, lettuce, etc are probably fine. Just as a reminder, our area is not free from frost until May.

Some shrubs and trees will also show some signs of damage from the freeze. Some plants, like hydrangea, will show winter burn almost immediately in their foliage. Others, such as some of the trees that are leafing out right now, may lose some of the tender growth to the cold temperatures. These trees may leaf out again later or branches may simply die off. It is too soon to know. People will wonder in June why there are dead areas in their ornamental plants. We will need to think back to this past weekend as a possible reason.

Even lawns may have some effects from the cold snap, but in a good way. The cooler temperatures may have slowed the germination of crabgrass seeds thus either shortening or delaying its hold on area lawns.

There is really nothing anyone could have done to prevent any of this damage except to not plant susceptible plants so early. This was just Mather Nature’s way of letting us know that she really is still in charge.

Remember, Allentuck Landscaping Co. is always here to help you design, install, construct and maintain you lawn and landscape. Now is the time to get your 2016 Lawn and Landscape Maintenance Quote. Give us a call!