Horticulturist David Cook says that peach trees, such as the one in this photo, could see a 10 to 20 percent loss in fruit because of the weather this past winter. (photo credit: Creative Commons/ Alan Levine)
Winter weather may have left your trees brown and shrubs withered, but Middle Tennessee horticulturists say resist the urge to prune for now.
David Cook is an agent at the Davidson County Extension Office.
“We need to let nature take it’s course and let these plants respond to warmer weather, warmer soil temperature and the movement of water and they’ll start replacing these injured leaves”
With some plants it could be mid May before you start to see green and find out what parts are truly dead.
That’s a long wait for even the most seasoned gardener. Cook admits he sometimes gets impatient. So, at least for trees, he uses the scratch method to see what, if anything, he can prune.
“Scratch the bark with your thumbnail or a knife,” Cook Says, “Expose a little bit of green tissue and it’s good to go. If it’s brown, it’s more than likely dead.”
Cook says trees have taken a particular hit this winter. Not because of the duration of the cold weather but rather the fluctuation in temperature. In January, temperatures see-sawed from the 50s and 60s down to single digits in a day’s time.
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