Almost every home garden on the Island will be manifesting some effects from that January bout of freezing weather.
It was two weeks ago, on my first day back in the garden after almost three weeks indoors, miserable with the flu.
That could explain why, for the first time ever in its decades-long lifetime in the garden, the tree was not full of early spring flowers. Buds already swelling in the warmth of December and early January were likely blasted to death by the sudden cold temperatures that plummeted to -10 C. Only a few flower buds survived to bloom.
The Mexican orange blossom , a shrub I value for its shiny, aromatic, broad-fingered foliage and fragrant spring flowers, is badly scorched by frost, while another Choisya called Aztec Pearl, in a fully open, exposed location, was not damaged, perhaps because its much narrower leaflets made it less vulnerable to frost damage.
Even if all scraped bits show brown, I’d still wait. A few stems may have survived to leaf out. If not, it simply means the shrubs have reverted to herbaceous perennial status and will regrow into brand new plants. There may even be a few fresh green shoots already emerging from the plant crowns.
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