Cold damaged plants
Assessing winter damage
Does your Escallonia look like this?
Or your Rosemary like this?
The record cold spell we had this winter really made us realize what is truly hardy here. We don’t know about you, but we got to one degree a couple nights in a row. That is cold. That is the coldest we have ever been since we moved here in 2004. That is cold that may be here more regularly as global warming has its effect of erratic weather. The cold we had was also fairly dry and long lasting which caused even more damage since the plant basically becomes desiccated. So we are not USDA Zone 8; even Zone 7 seems a stretch these days. But we are here to help!
There are still alternatives that can be cold hardy and even deer resistant. We will be answering questions I’m sure all spring about what plants need to come out and what their replacements can be. We will be covering them in many of our upcoming spring classes. Such as ‘I Just Moved Here- What do I Plant?’ and ‘Deer Resistant Plants for the Rogue Valley’.
But here are a few quick suggestion I came up with while working with Bill Bumgardner of Bumgardner’s Landscape . Thanks for the photos Bill!
The Escallonia definitely got hit the hardest. There is not much hope of any of them coming back. Same with the Viburnum ‘Spring Bouquet’ and Choisya ternata. Time will tell on some others like English Laurel and Privet. They can drop leaves and push new ones in spring. So scratch a twig and if there is green underneath that stem is still viable. But there are alternatives; here is a quick list, and I know there will be more to offer as the season progresses, so come visit regularly! Check in with the deer resistant list for reference as well. What did you have success or failures with? We’d love to know.
Shooting Star Nursery’s cold hardy recommendations for evergreens for sun:
Arbutus unedo ‘Compacta’ (most of these have had superficial damage, although if they went through zero degrees they did not make it)
Prunus ‘Otto Luyken’
Choisya ‘Aztec Pearl’ (came through beautifully)
Elaeagnus ‘Gilt Edge’, seemed to do better than plain silver
Pinus mugo pumilo
Evergreen Berberis varieties (may show some damage but should leaf out)
Arbutus unedo ‘Compacta’ (part shade)
Choisya ‘Aztec Pearl’ (part shade)
Osmanthus h. Rotundifolius (part shade)