You could be wondering whether a plant in your yard is still alive or if you should remove it if it is taking a long time to sprout new growth in the spring. Some plants don’t exhibit any signs of life for weeks or months, while others sprout new leaves during the frigid days of early spring. You run the danger of pulling out a plant that is only waiting for the ideal circumstances to trigger its springtime emergence if you are unsure if it is dead or still dormant during the winter. These five pointers will assist you in deciding if a plant is suitable for the compost pile or is still dormant.
- Check for brittle branches and dead twigs.
Dead branches and twigs make a hollow sound when you tap them, are brittle, and break easily. A section of the plant that has lost its vital moisture content is indicated by brittle branches. Cut off a little piece of the twig in question. Does it snap off with a simple flick of the wrist, breaking readily from the plant? It means that section of the plant is dead if it does. If the twig bends slightly without breaking and still attached to the branch, it is probably still alive.
There may still be hope, even if the plant is reduced to dead, dry stalks. Think about this before acting rashly and pulling up a plant that has dead stems: Certain plants may have a functioning root system even while all of the stems seem to be dead. When the environment is favorable for development, new stems will emerge from the root system. Shrubs that die down to the ground the next summer may become stunning plants, such as hydrangea and bluebeard. In contrast, trees have a lower chance of growing back from their roots once all of their above-ground growth has perished.
- Seek Dormancy Under the Bark
To expose the layer of tissue just under the outer coating of a twig, use your fingernail or a clean pair of pruners to lightly scrape its surface. The twig is alive if the tissue has a green tint. The twig is probably dead if the tissue is brown or white.
The plant is not always dead just because a twig is dead. The remainder of the plant may still be alive, even if some branches may have perished from illness or the harsh winter. Remove any dead twigs from the plant when they only appear on a section of it, then keep an eye out for new growth.
3.Understand the Dormancy Cycle of Your Plant
Every kind of plant has a different growth schedule. Microclimates, unfavorable growing circumstances, and climate change all have an impact on growth patterns, sometimes delaying emergence from dormancy for weeks at a time. To determine with accuracy when your plants are actively developing and when they are typically dormant, get familiar with their growth habits.
Certain plants often take a while to exhibit the first indications of development in the spring or summer, such as:
Elm, hackberry, hickory, locust, mulberry, oak, sycamore, sassafras, and walnut are among the trees.
Shrubs: smoke tree, lavender, butterfly bush, and beautyberry.
Balloon flower, black-eyed Susan, Joe-Pye weed, butterfly weed, gaura, hardy hibiscus, and swamp milkweed are examples of perennials.
- Don’t Stress About Decorative Grasses
Miscanthus, blue fescue, and switchgrass are examples of perennial ornamental grasses that emerge slowly from dormancy. Ornamental grasses are often still dormant in the spring while lawn grass is lush and green. By the time maple trees get their full leaf cover, ornamental grasses should be sprouting new growth.
- Evergreens Ought to Remain Green
True to their name, healthy evergreens stay green all year long. Your boxwood, spruce, or arborvitae is probably dead if it’s brown, brittle, and shedding leaves. Winter injuries from drying winds or very cold temperatures are the most likely suspect. Take off any dead branches from any remaining portions of the plant, allowing it time to fill up. It may grow back to the point that the damage is no longer visible, depending on the species and degree of damage.
Give It Time If You’re Not Sure
Just wait if you’re still unsure whether your plant is dormant or dead. We’ll find out in time. After a few weeks, give the plant another look. With time, fragile, light-weight twigs will emerge from dead woody plants. If perennials are still alive, they will come up by midsummer. To avoid uprooting a living plant that is enjoying a prolonged dormant period, a few weeks of waiting for a plant to provide additional hints is a minor price to pay.