Wait for another couple of weeks and trim the hosta back. They should regrow from dormant eyes. They will be smaller than normal but at least they will feed themselves. Next year they probably will be smaller too because they are having to regrow more dormant eyes.

Yup, about 1/3 of mine look the same way along with ALL my Japanese maples. It looks like I have yarn hanging from the branches instead of leaves. They too will pop dormant buds and survive but it is hard on them. The hosta that are up just a few inches will have severely damage edges but eventually new growth will cover that up. If the pips are still tight and moisture didn't get into them, they MIGHT be alright. Melting snow might have damaged those too.

The bleeding hearts, ferns, clematis are all black or hanging limp. We have another night in the 20's and then tomorrow night, a heat wave of 32. The daylily foliage is dark green and reminds me of fountain grass. I don't know if they will straighten up or end up dead too. I have two or three that were struggling to survive after our winter, they may have packed their bags and just given up. Time will tell. Gardening is definitely a past time for the optimistic.

Brooke

Brooke, my daylilies actually look pretty good. some are droopy but not all. The ones that look the worst are the new ones that I had set out the week before. One had a beautiful scape when it arrived but it doesn't look to pretty good right now. My iris are bad though. I am going to start pulling them up. I remember now why I quit trying to grow those.

The JM's are really sad looking here too!! The poor ginko looks worse than any though.

Your dls will be ok I am sure but the Hosta's, both yours and mine, are in sad shape. I have those ( some ) huge ones and if they are gonna be runts, I would just as soon have something else there. So, what grows in the shade besides Hosta?...Hehehe!!!!...Ellie

They won't be runts, just smaller than normal. Strangers won't be able to tell the difference, just a hostaphile.

I still haven't been out to do a walk around but have been using my binoculars and honestly, some of the daylily foliage is already starting to come upright. Not all but some.

My other concern is my hydrangea. Some had lots of leaves, some just a few but the buds were probably frozen off (insert sobbing here). My new redbuds lost their blooms but the Forest Pansy and Hearts of Gold had not started to leaf out yet but the pretty little variegated one had. It was brand new last year so hope it has enough energy to grow more leaves. I was really impressed with it's spring show because the blooms were pink but the little leaves were bright chartreuse.

I can't even get depressed over the set back because Ma Nature can be cruel and I definitely have no control.

What grows in shade besides hosta? Well don't count on ferns - they are REALLY ugly now. I wonder if they regrow - anyone know?

Brooke

Do you know if Crepe Myrtles will put on more leaves?Will they bloom?Or worse case, can this kill them? I have about 20 Crepes in my garden and they normally do not put on any green until late May, but with 88 degree days in March for nearly 3 weeks, they got confused and now they all have dead brown leaves. My hydrangea lost about 85% of their foilage and I'd about bet they won't bloom. My Forest Pansy Redbud lost about 50% of it's pretty heart shaped purple leaves.

By the way, where to you find your Hearts of Gold? I've feel in love with Redbuds and would love to have more.

My daylilies look good, but only time will tell how good. My Iris are really questionable, some bloom stalks are on the ground, so I know these are gone, but most are still standing tall and I'm sure hoping they will survive. I lost them last year to a hail storm.

Strangely, my hostas still look good. I guess they were kinda protected under the trees.

Here's to praying that the cold is gone, Mona

Mona I think all trees and shrubs have dormant buds just sitting there waiting to pop but usually they sit there a year before needing to grow. Mother Nature has always been cruel and all plants have to have an ability to regrow or they die.

I got the Hearts of Gold redbud at a nursery locally. If you check they should be plentiful now and widely distributed. It looks really pretty planted in the same area as the Forest Pansy because the purple and gold foliage play off each other. Look for the variegated one too if you are nursery hopping. It is smaller but was really pretty this spring with the pink blooms and very light chartreuse foliage.

Brooke

Oh Ellie, your yard looks so sad! I'm so glad most of my plants haven't begun to leaf out, because it's been frigid up here too. At our church the daylilies were just starting to sprout, so I dumped mulch on top of them before "the big freeze" set in. Ditto for the ones at home that were up. Some early bushes have been set back by the freeze, and any bulbs with less than an iron constitution (lilies, some daffodils) have been damaged.

I can hardly wait for the weather to warm up again. I had counted on having some time this week to do garden stuff before my surgery, but that hasn't been practical. SO, life still goes on - stuff will just get done later than I planned. I'm doing indoor stuff (making my little girl a new dance dress, working on a book with my mother and sisters, and - gasp! - cleaning house).

I hope your trees can rebound from this setback - I would be SO unhappy if my trees had leafed out then been blasted by the cold. I'll bet the hostas will be fine once they get going, though - maybe smaller than usual, but they're pretty tough.

As if you'd replace your hostas! Still, I can't help recommending toad lilies and variegated Solomon's seal, my two favorite shade plants. They are wonderful in clumps, and quite graceful with their arching habit.

{{gwi:631501}}
Tricyrtis 'Miyazaki Hybrids' from 2006

Laurel

Laurel, I have some Toad Lilies, somewhere, or I did at one time.. I also have the Variegated Solomon's seal, both the giant and the mini. They are hardy enough that even if some passed away, I would still have plenty. I haven't looked at the Yellow Lady's Slipper since it got so cold. I hope it makes it as it doesn't seem to increase very well.

Brooke, my Deutza is absolutely BLACK. I had so mant buds on it too but doubt very much that I will see a bloom this year. The Korean Lilac WAS budded but they are badely wilted.

My iris' are spotted all over like rust. But they are also gray looking. I had a couple of dls that are a grayish color now but most seem to be ok.

I am glad the native redbuds were through blooming. One thing that doesn't know it was cold was the honeysuckle that I am training to tree. it is as bright and pretty as can be....

I set out some Carolina Jasmine ( more ) today. And about 20 dls. that I had inside...

BTW, the ferns are really black and ugly. As Brooke asked, will they rebound?

Ellie my Deutza is still green but limp and it has been going in and out of the greenhouse. The buds will be history and I'm hoping the wilting is just from the shipping and potting up.

I am really worried about my Japanese maples. All of the leaves are history but some of the tips of the new growth are also limp which I know will have to be cut off. One of the local gardening gurus said on the radio that if trees are thin barked there might be deadly damage to them because the bark is so thin over the cambium, they might die. I don't know of JM's are thin barked or not. All of my weed trees came through just fine, of course.

My garden is very ugly.

Brooke

I am hoping for the best on the JMs. My little Japanese Butterfly aple was looking really bad but is starting to look better. The varigated Japanese Weeping willow is holding it own too so maybe the maples will be fine. I know that the ones that I have that are seedlings look to be rebounding. I am concerened about the Hydrangas though since I am sure the buds for this year are frozen. They look awful. I guess I should just go ahead and cut them all down. I can imagine how your garden must look. I look at my own and become depressed.

They new dls I had set out before the cold, are looking really bad. I covered them but it didn't seem to help. Should I cut them back? Evelyn Kloeris was the one with the big scape but it is black ( the scape ) now....Ellie