Expert: C.L. Fornari - 4/12/2007

Question
QUESTION: i live in south carolina on the coast where all are crape myrtle and spring flowers and annual grass had begun to for leaves/grass. the frost hit it all. what showed i do with the mussy new leaves or brown again grass
ANSWER: It has been colder than normal over much of the country, but I realize that knowing that you are in good company is no help!  The trees will put out another set of leaves, as will the grass and any perennials that got frost-nipped.  Once the weather warms again the plants will drop any leaves that are killed, and new ones will grow.  If you haven't fertilized these plants yet this year, you could give them an ORGANIC fertilizer, but if they've been fed in the last year you shouldn't push extra new growth.  A layer of compost or composted manure, however, never hurts,, so you could put up to an inch of these organic matter underneath your plants. (Orgainc fertilizer is slow-release so it won't push sudden, weak growth like a chemical fertilizer would.

The most important thing to do for shrubs and tees is to give them a good deep soaking once a week if it dosn't rain.  Do this right through next fall, and remember that a deep soaking less often is better than a little every day.

Rake up the dead grass...fertilize the grass once it is warm again (if you  haven't already done so.  

Praying for Spring to return,
C.L.
www.gardenlady.cpm


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QUESTION: but i still don't know what to do with all those mussy leaves on the trees. we live in a restricted neighborhood where we are not permitted to just let things go. Can I cut off the dead leaves or will that damage the trees.  

Answer
OK - I didn't know that you lived in a neighborhood where you can't let Mother Nature take care of it!  Sure - any leaves that are so damaged that they look mushy or dead can be clipped off - I would clip off mostly leaves, however, not cutting into the stems, because the plant should make more leaves from the same stems. A light pruning doesn't hurt most plants, but you wouldn't want to add insult to injury by cutting the plant down very far.

I hope this helps,
C.L.