Gardeners have an unusual take on things. One moment we’re in a frenzy of panic over aphids in the garden, while the next we’re shrugging off near total loss of plants due to weather. We’re not adjusting our medication; it’s just that some things we can’t control.
Hail, for example. We’ve been luxuriating in a wet season, with plenty of rain to keep lawns and gardens happy. But Mother Nature also has a dark side, and she’s sent some severe storms to go along with the precipitation. From leaf tearing, to plants completely stripped of leaves, and tree branches getting dinged worse than our cars — it’s gotten a bit ugly out there among the flowers and vegetables.
If your plants have become victim to the savage skies, take heart: It looks bad now, but, depending on the plant, its maturity and time left in the season for recovery, all may not be lost. There is still some time to resow some plants.
Vegetable root crops with destroyed leaves, such as potatoes or beets, could send up new shoots, which will compromise the quality of the crop. In this case, the produce may not be worth the growing space. But for leafy vegetables, be patient and give them at least a week to recuperate after the storm. By then, if there’s no sign of life, replant.
When choosing plants for vegetable replacements, keep in mind how many growing days are left in the season. If you don’t mind planning to cover the plants during an odd snow squall Colorado could get in September, then you could get away with crops that take longer than 65 days to start producing. Cabbages, beans, Napa cabbage,and broccoli were all sown in my garden this week, replacing plants that I lost.
Flowering annuals stripped of their leaves may not survive, but replanting them now will ensure a good display later in summer. Yes, it’s hard to pull up those babies, so if there are a few bits left on the stem and you’re feeling like a nurturing gardener, clean them up and a give them a light application of fertilizer. They might recover.
Severely shredded leaves on smaller perennials should be cut back to the ground, and if the leaves aren’t too damaged, leave them alone. Bleeding hearts and other perennials with soft stems that look reasonably unharmed should be cut back partially. Generally, they’ll sprout new leaves along the stem at the junction between the old leaves and the stem.
Work fertilizer in around any damaged perennials that are well-established to give them a boost for recovery. Those with firm stalks should be partially cut back. If they don’t sprout new leaves on existing stems, look for new stems pushing up from their roots.
Examine your woody plants for wounds in the bark or torn limbs; clean up the wound site with a sharp knife and let the plant heal itself. Turn over any empty containers that might have captured rain to prevent mosquitoes from using it as a nursery.
Our gardens will recover after this weather, and soon we can return to scouting for aphids, slugs and other thugs in the yard.
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