Laurels have a LOT of dead branches but seem to be coming back. I tried to prune the deadwood this weekend. Camellias don't look great but are alive. Lost rosemary but we always seem to. Lost a couple of small roses. Hydrangeas are sprouting from the bases only so I guess they will be smaller this year.

I'm intrigued by all the figs. How long does it take to produce fruit?

I have sprouts from the roots on my Hardy Chicago fig tree. Nothing yet from the other fig tree, but it was older and in a more sheltered location, so I'm hopeful.

Fellow fig tree owners.

I'm going to call a tree doc to come look at our tree. I will report back with news, tips, suggestions.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lost 5 out of 6 hardy gardenias
Lost 2 small newly planted camellias
Large old fig tree has not leafed out yet. Small one I was able to cover did. Will wait until June to see if there is any growth at all on the fig.

The one rose I lost was named for my husband's ancestor who created it. There must be some irony in that...

I think the irony would be if it were your ex-DH ! I hope it's not a portent?

Greetings fellow fig tree owner. I'm the PP who posted earlier. Let keep checking back and comparing notes. My tree is about 12 years old. I am very, very nervous, but like you, am hoping it's just taking it's sweet time. It has always bloomed later than my other trees. [there doesn't appear to be an emoticon for "nervous" so just imagine it!]

Third fig owner here with no signs of life on two trees; neighbor's figs, and the local school's also showing no signs of life yet -- finger's crossed. Also lost 3 rosemary, 2 lavender, but 2 survived as did 2 sage but lots of dead wood on them all; hydrangea all died back to ground and are resprouting (except for one in a very protected spot which is budding from the stems as usual). All were vey old and large -- so sad (especially the old rosemary shrub).

Our lace cap hydrangeas suffered a lot of damage, but the oak leaf ones are fine. Fig tree is a maybe.

I had a row of 8-10 ft Nelly Stevens trees planted last fall for a privacy hedge. They developed a colossal amount of dead, dry, copper-colored leaves and branches over the winter, I honestly thought I lost them to the cold plus the transplant shock. The grower advised to wait it out. A week ago they developed very healthy flower buds and are now blooming. This past weekend I trimmed all dead stuff away and can clearly see the supple, green new growth in branches. These trees can take an amazing amount of abuse. Hoping for healthy growth this year so they can develop and harden before the winter.

Anonymous wrote:Another fig owner here. I have two, a Brown Turkey and the other a Celeste. Neither one has any sign of life, and both are old established trees. I will be seriously bummed if I lose the older, bigger one. But they do leaf out very late, so there is still hope.

I lost all my rosemary, and the hydrangeas have some damage, as do the camellias, but nothing dire.

Our two fig trees are looking pretty dead. We're waiting and hoping. Also, our very large banana tree looks pretty dead. We're waiting and hoping for that one, too.

Another fig owner here. I have two, a Brown Turkey and the other a Celeste. Neither one has any sign of life, and both are old established trees. I will be seriously bummed if I lose the older, bigger one. But they do leaf out very late, so there is still hope.

I lost all my rosemary, and the hydrangeas have some damage, as do the camellias, but nothing dire.

Oh, and for those looking to replace, Meadows Farms had Kleim's Hardy Gardenias in 1 gal pots at $9.99 each.

Anonymous wrote:All my gardenias.

Merrifield Garden experts told me to pull the gardenias from the ground, root ball and all, and set them on the ground in place that doesn't get baking sun. Then get some Super Thrive
and dilute it according to directions, and pour it over the root balls. Do not cut off the dead growth, as it protects the root ball from the sun (I put mine in a shady place in the garden). Keep the rootball moist so it doesn't dry out and see what happens in a month or two. I had started to see some new growth before I pulled them, but not much. He said if you leave the plant in the soil to recover, the roots can become too wet and you can lose the plant. I plan to add some of the Super Thrive once per week to the water.

You can do this for a lot of plants and see what happens.

This is what Super Thrive looks like. They carry it at Merrifield, and at other good garden stores:

http://www.1000bulbs.com/product/98061/GROW-VI30148.html?utm_source=SmartFeedPriceGrabber&utm_medium=Shopping&utm_term=GROWVI30148&utm_content=HydroponicSuppliesNutrientsandSupplementsSuperThrive&utm_campaign=SmartFeedPriceGrabber&thissku=GROW777dash777VI30148&site=pricegrabber.com

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My rosemary didn't make it.

Mine neither. And it was so hardy. Survived drought. Survived the other winters. Went from a tiny pot to a huge bush. I was so proud of that little plant.

That's so sad Stupid winter!!

Arp is supposedly the best variety for this area. Still, I think a lot of plants that were supposed to survive this winter did not. I was not fun to live with during the winter, and now assessing the damage is making me grumpy again (but only sometimes because I get to plant some at least)

I spent 6 hours yesterday replanting, doing some light mulching, etc. Felt good in so many respects.

Anonymous wrote:Rosemary, bay, a few roses. The lower branches of our miniature Japanese maple are dead on the street side, and I wonder if all the salt treatments had something to do with it. It's been a very healthy tree with no die-off in the past.

Our Japanese maple lost it's entire top - it seems to be dead... I wonder if it will come back next year, or should I cut the top off?

Anonymous wrote:My rosemary didn't make it.

Mine neither. And it was so hardy. Survived drought. Survived the other winters. Went from a tiny pot to a huge bush. I was so proud of that little plant.

All my gardenias.

Anonymous wrote:Yes, some animal burrowed and ate into the asparagus plot we made two years ago (this was to be our first year with a bit of home grown asparagus). Only 4 spears have survived. We planted 32 two year old roots and the past two years have seen much growth, but we did not harvest to make them strong. grrrr. Our small fig did not survive and I regret not bringing it inside the house.

It was a hard winter for the critters as well. Sucks tho