penstemmon R.I.P.

[eggplant]

Hi everyone. Hope you've had a good gardening weekend. SO here's my question.

It was a pretty atrocious winter. Here in S/W Kerry we had the most snow and the longest periods of frost since the sixties. Can you help me make a hard decision on whether my penstemmons failed to survive the winter or whether I need to be more patient?

There is absolutely no green anywhere and the twigs I have broken off snapped off cleanly - brittle with no bend at all. I'm more than a bit ticked as they're four years old. Does anyone feel they might bounce back with more time. Its really hard staring at dead plants. Thanks for the advice.

[ntantiques]

I'll vote for patience...I'm in Oregon and my garden took a beating this winter too. We had prolonged record sub-freezing temps, snow and hit a low of 9 degrees which burst pipes all over town. At first look my Penstemons (Sour Grape & Apple Blossom varieties) looked stone dead.

Made a note to pull them, but when I went back to actually clean the beds a week or two later, way down at the bottom of the very dead stems I found the tiniest little green leaf buds. Have had them die way back before and as long as there's a spark there, they seem to recover and bloom vigorously. No harm in giving them a bit of time.

Nancy T

[Cheryl Isaak]

I'm with Nancy - patience is a hard thing to council, but what change a week or two might make.

Cheryl

[Bill who putters]

At least 1/3 of our azaleas have 2/3 leaf damage in the form of a burn or dryness. They still bend a good sign BTW. Strange that some are OK and others affected may be age related thou. This winter so far was down to 6 F. where last year we had a -5 F. with no azalea damage. Hmmmn. I intend to wait and cut back as a last resort. Also in process of replacing some as they are about 40 years old and have been fighting borers all their lives. About to remove leaves and construct a small light intensity plant thingy. Rumor has my brother next door intends to put three large commercial greenhouse up next door. I may see If I can lease 20 sq. feet for greens etc.