Storm Damage: What can a gardener do?
Posted on June 2nd, 2008 – 8:10 AMBy Connie Nelson
So we’re driving home Saturday night at about 8:30, when I see something funny. “What’s that white stuff on the ground?” I ask my hubby. The answer was not so funny. It was hail. At least 2 inches of it.
We’d missed the storm, but my garden hadn’t. Even tho it was almost dark, I could see that most of my hosta had been shredded, the hydrangea I’d JUST PLANTED was completely leafless and the morning glory seedlings were mashed. The crane’s bill was matted. The ferns were broken off at the ground. The sedum were stripped. I shoveled a foot or so of accumulated hail off the two shrub roses I’d JUST PLANTED and went to bed. “Things will look better in the morning,” I thought.
I thought wrong. Sunday morning, things looked worse. So I did the bravest thing I could: I went kayaking. OK, OK, so I’m in denial. I know I’ll have to cut off the shreaded foliage. I know that most of my plants will look sorta sad for the rest of the summer — if they survive. (Will a coral bell with only one leaf fare well?) But I also know that other folks have been hit much harder by storms already this summer. (Think of the folks in Hugo.) And that there’s no way I can replace all those plants.
So I’m giving the Restorative Properties of Nature some time to work her magic. Next weekend, I’ll get back into the garden — with a clippers and a better attitude. What else can a gardener do?
14 Responses to "Storm Damage: What can a gardener do?"
Oh Connie, that’s an awful report. I’m so sorry. I swear, sometimes storms just know when you’ve just planted something. I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you and everyone else that got hit with hail — may your plants recover quickly.
Oh, how heartbreaking! If you want replacement cranesbill, I have ‘Biokovo’ that has dodged all storms!
Bummer, Connie! So sorry to hear about that.
I have 2 Columbine that are full of blooms but lost all their leaves, so there is hope for your coral bell!
Thanks you guys. I really think it was smart of me to just let things go for a while. If I’d gone in there with my clippers, I have have taken everything down. By waiting a bit, I’ll let Mother Nature do some of the work. In a day or two, it’ll be obvious what’s deader than a doornail (as we used to say) and what has a chance at survival.
I know this was what they call an “isolated” storm, but did any of you get hit?
Yes, we got smashed in SLP! There were still piles of ice in shady spots 24 hours later. I am not a fantastic gardener, and with a giant dog (i.e., no grass), the 50 or so different hosta in my backyard were the highlight. All are shredded. What do you think their chance of survival is?
Mel, hosta are tough as nails. They may not look great this season, but I bet most of your plants will bounce back.
I live in SLP, but it sounds like we got less hail than you. My half-dead tulips took most of the damage. Connie’s belief in the restorative power of nature isn’t as kooky as it sounds. I thought my brussel sprouts were goners. They had totally perked up by Sunday night.
Mel,
Jaime’s right. Most hostas are pretty darn tough. Damaged leaves won’t repair themselves, so you’ll have to cut them off. But because it’s still so early in the spring, new leaves may sprout.
It gets a little dicey when the plant was hit so hard that all the leaves on have to be removed. In that case, the leaves on some plants may regenerate, other plants may sit tight and be fine next year. Some may croak. If your plants were healthy before the storm, they should do OK. Best of luck!
The trouble with the sagas of the Pa and Ma Ingalls family is that they deny us being allowed to feel any shred of satisfying self-pity when stuff like this happens! My backyard looks like a bad salad bar; less so in the front yard, which is weird. I fought the impulse to clip away all the damaged leaves, wondering whether even that leaf surface would help the plant recover? Or should the damage be trimmed away? Am I courting disease and pests with the ragged leaves? I don’t really want to shear things to the ground. Actually, I’ve got veggies to put in but don’t feel like planting anything right now, with all the hail talk for this week. Maybe I’ll place my bets on a late fall.
Kim, the longer I’ve been gardening, the more I’ve learned that waiting is often a wise thing to do!
After talking with our consulting horticulturist, I think I’m going to go on waiting. She confirmed what I thought: that most damaged foliage needs to be removed. But what to do if a plant lost all of it’s foliage? (I’ve got some hosta that look like they’ve been run over with a lawnmower.) Now, that’s a tricky question. Tough plants might spring back from nothing.Some plants may come back next spring. And some may just croak.
Are you up for a science experiment?
I’m so sorry for all you who got hit. In South Minneapolis (between Lakes Powderhorn and Nokomis) I saw no more than literally a handful of (petit) pea size hail. Best wishes for a speedy recovery to your plant victims.
Thanks, Anneesha!
I live in south Minneapolis, too. Southwest, tho. Near Lake Harriet. I’m starting to think my garden was trashed because I curse creeping Charlie.
Connie - that’s kinda scary … I let creeping Charlie go crazy; actually it looks pretty nice and stands up to dog traffic. Maybe it protected us here in the ‘hood!
I’m also a SLP resident. My rhubarb got shredded like my hosta. Should I cut it back?
Greengirls Connie Nelson, Robyn Dochterman and Jaime Chismar are dishin' the dirt from the backyard garden and beyond. Whether you're a greenthumb or greenhorn, they're eager to learn from your misshaps, mistakes -- and most importantly, your sweet successes -- all growing season long.
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