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| Two questions on this matter:
1) I have a Meyer lilac, one large branch has small buds and is green when I cut it; yet it has not begun to leaf out at all when the entire rest of the shrub has. When do I know I should just go ahead and prune it off? 2) I think my tiarella was killed by a workman (long story), but since it's one of my favorite plants I want to give it every chance to show up before re-planting that area. Should I wait, should I dig up the area and look for its roots, or is its failure to appear a clear sign it's dead? Thanks! |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by cearbhaill Zone 6b Eastern KY (My Page) on Fri, Apr 13, 12 at 14:27
| What's the rush? I would think it far too early in the season (and an erratic season at that) to be declaring anything dead. So my arbitrary answer for your "When?" is June 1st. |
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Fri, Apr 13, 12 at 15:23
| you would prune a flowering shrub like lilac.. anytime after it flowers ... or.. if it was just buggin you to death.. do it immediately.. and give up the flowers for this year ... there is no reason it should NOT come back with a vengeance .. presuming it is otherwise healthy ... since it is a sucker shrub ... any perennial.. dig it up ... see if the roots look good [if not, you are done] .. throw it around the yard.. yell at it.. curse.. and then replant it.. in a different location ... two theories involved there: one.. the threat to the plant.. releases survival hormones.. and it will respond by getting a move on ..... and two.. you will feel much better.. for having taught it EXACTLY .. who is in charge.. and what the result will be.. if it fails to perform to your expectation .. [and if.. after.. you are still mad.. declare it dead.. and move on with your life.. since you are in charge anyway ..] actually .. its much simpler ... its dead.. when it pisses you off so much.. you have to ask questions on GW ... just be done with it.. ken |
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| OK, thanks. The rush? None, except that I'm standing out there with my lopper. And hey, my tiarella is not pissing me off. Rather, I am trying to avoid mourning its loss. |
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| Boy Ken, you sure are master of your domain..lol. Teach those plants a lesson! I still have things that have not emerged/leafed out in zone 6. So..I would think in zone 5 April is too early to give up on anything (though granted it's weird that one branch is behaving differently than the rest of the shrub). |
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| Hi Jayco,I'm not sure about your Lilac. I usually scratch the wood on a branch to check for what I assume is the green cambian layer underneath. If you see that, it is probably still alive. Do you mean Tiarella cordifolia? Mine is semi-evergreen over the winter and it is definitely showing itself this spring already, despite the very dry weather we are having. The species is a vigorous spreading perennial. However, in my experience some of the cultivars in particular the Heucherellas are not so hardy. |
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Sat, Apr 14, 12 at 9:46
| i agree .. its too early.. to be .. WORRYING ... up here .. north of the mason dixon line ... but i am trying to picture jay.. sitting next to the keyboard .. with the lopping shears leaning on his leg.. typing up the OP .. lol .. again.. lilac are pruned after the flower show. and in my z5 MI.. the lilac are barely.. blooming.. two more weeks ought to be time for thinning.. pruning.. etc .. by which time.. you will know which parts are dead.. and if your is really ugly.. take the whole down to 3 inches from the ground.. and be amazed how it responds by late summer [though you might not get bloom next spring] google rejuvenation pruning of flowering shrubs for info on lilac pruning .. worry should really not be a function of garden management .. intrigue .. yes ... but if it fails to perform .. be done with it ... dont WORRY ABOUT IT ... ken |
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| I'm with cearbhaill in that I wait until June. There have been times when buds have been killed on living branches and the plant needs time to regenerate those buds. (and if its a clematis, they sometimes come back after a full year of disappearance, so I give clems a year before I replant that spot.) |
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- Posted by prairiemoon2 zone 6a/MA (My Page) on Sat, Apr 14, 12 at 18:32
| I'm always amazed at how many times I think something is dead and it shows up later than I expected. This year, it was Hydrangea 'Incrediball'. I bought a very small pot from Bluestone last year and it sat around for a couple of months in late summer, forgot to water it a few times, finally threw the whole pot into the vegetable bed in November and it looked half dead. Sure enough, this spring, it looked dead. I could also see that it was a quarter of the way out of the ground too. Sure enough yesterday I noticed that it is pushing up new stems. Very happy about that. Same thing with Weigela 'Midnight Wine' Same situation as the Hydrangea. No sign of life then noticed today one that looked dead last week, is now covered in leaf buds. The other still looks dead. But like Babs, I will probably wait until June before deciding something is dead. |
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| Some things are actually easy to declare dead, and in such a case there is no reason to wait to June. If you put your finger into the place where the plant is supposed to be, and everything is rotten, it will not resurect just because June has come. |
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