Wind. Rain. Hail. Snow. More rain. More hail. More snow.
Well, you get the picture: it has been a very unusual winter on the Oregon coast. While we normally get lots of rain and wind, they have been supplemented this year with lots of hail and even snow on the beach. So what happens to our gardens while all that is going on in the atmosphere?
The plants that normally bloom in the spring should be okay. Some will put on a better show than they normally do because deep down in their DNA, they like a colder winter than we generally have in Tillamook.
Tulips, for example, come from places like Turkey and Central Asia, known for their severe winters. Same story with some of the genus Rhododendron which were discovered in China in the mid- 19th century and now are located on most continents. (These are not to be confused with the native Rhododendron macrophyllum.) Of course, over the centuries both tulips and the Asian rhodies have been hybridized and bred to be less needy of cold weather.
Plants that go dormant for the winter like hostas, Japanese maples, and roses should do just fine. The hostas know to wait until the soil warms to start sprouting. I have noticed that the Japanese maples have had leaf buds forming for several weeks now. But with the colder weather, they will probably just delay breaking bud. I certainly won’t be doing any pruning on these plants yet as I don’t want to stimulate any growth.
Roses may show some signs of breaking out their leaf buds and that will be fine, too. Roses prefer a nice, cold winter so they can really rest. Even having their leaves nipped in the bud shouldn’t cause much of a problem as new ones will form again when the air temperatures warm a bit. Since roses won’t bloom until May or June, the flower buds shouldn’t be affected.
There may be problems with fruit trees having their blossoms frozen or blown off the branches before the flowers can set fruit. Not much we can do about that. Commercial growers will go to all sorts of methods to make sure the trees stay warm and this includes setting out smudge pots to prevent frost from affecting the buds. Smoke from the smudge pots serves to keep the air around the fruit trees at a stable temperature. But, since they burn crude oil, the smoke can be quite thick and not worth the trouble for home growers.
We may also see a lot of small holes in the foliage of evergreen shrubs when we get out there and look. Most of the holes will be on the outer or upper leaves, with the inner or lower leaves looking just fine. This, of course, is a result of hail storms and it really can’t be helped either. The plant will no doubt continue to thrive but may gradually lose the damaged leaves, replacing them with new, healthy growth.
Spring bulbs and tubers like tulips, daffodils, iris, and dahlias are extremely susceptible to standing water and they will rot if the soil doesn’t drain quickly enough. There isn’t much we can do about that in March, but if your bulb and tuber plants bloom less this year, you may want to lift them and check for rot damage. I would not plant a spring-blooming bulb in the same spot this coming fall until I had improved the drainage of the soil. If it is really soggy, you might consider making that area into a rain garden AKA bioswale. Choosing plants that actually like wet feet is an easy way to solve drainage problems.
While we are out in the garden looking for winter damage, pull the mulch away from the base of shrubs and trees and make sure no nasty little rodents have been dining on the bark of the trees. Most of my mulch has blown away in the winds, so not much chance the mice have been hiding. Still worth checking it though.
I think the best lesson we can learn from such an unusual winter is to be ready for anything next year. Next fall, use stakes and guy wires to tie young trees so they won’t be blown about in the wind. Tie branches of columnar-shaped plants so snow or winds won’t break them. And, of course, check those bulbs for good drainage. You might even consider lifting dahlia tubers in the late fall to dry and store them in a cool place for the winter. Planting them again in the spring might be the best way to protect them from unstable winter weather.
As a good friend recommends, we gardeners have to “remain flexible in the moment.” That certainly will be true this spring!
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