Winter Landscape Damage in Maryland

DSC03712The severe winter has brought damage to landscapes that we’ve not seen in a great many years.  Some plants that have been very winter hardy here may appear to be dead or very heavily damaged.  Some will recover later if the damaged/dead plant parts are trimmed off.  I recommend delaying wholesale cutting off of winter burnt foliage until the temperatures remain above freezing.  Even the unsightly brown/dead foliage serves to shield ...

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Salt Damage to Landscape Plants

DSC03718The quantities of salt applied to area roadways and sidewalks during the winter of 2013-2014 was among the most in decades, given the long cold, icy,and snowy periods, which ran relentlessly from November through March.  While the repeat or heavy salt applications certainly enabled us to traverse our roads more safely, the damage to plants and turf grass is a most unfortunate byproduct.   Clearly turf grass adjacent to roadways ...

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Protecting Plants in Winter

Weather patterns have been variable in recent years, to say the least.  After two relatively mild winters, the winter of 2013-2014 has started out more winter-like than has been customary.  The previous few winters have been characterized by fluctuating winter temperatures, such as long warm periods followed by sudden deep chills, and these conditions are very detrimental to many plants.  This pattern last winter ...

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Spring Gardening in the Snow in Silver Spring, Maryland

DSC02388  March 25th, 2013, 8 a.m., 4 inches of snow in Silver Spring, and it keeps falling.  Those plants that need the cold dormancy period, are certainly getting it this year, and insect problems will begin occurring later than last year.  Key gardening chore for today:  sweep heavy snow off of evergreen branches if it does not ...

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Winter Flowers: Montgomery County, MD Landscaping

DSC02316 As the winter cold seems to be relentless here in upper Montgomery County, Maryland, it is exciting to go out into the garden each morning to see some new flowers coming into bloom. This adds some nice color to the chilly gray days that we are experiencing. Colorful flowers can be found on each plane of the landscape – from small trees/shrubs, to perennials, to emerging ...

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Silver Spring Landscaping

cortaderia-selloana-pampas-grassTypically, we wait until the very end of winter to cut back ornamental grasses in Silver Spring.  But for some reason, this year they’ve been looking more tattered than usual, despite the absence of heavy snowstorms that generally decimate them.  We have, however, been blessed with one or two days each week when the temperatures have climbed to 50 degrees or more, and this allows us to ...

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