Dead...
or just Dormant? As spring is upon us, we get excited to see green popping out on plants that have looked dead throughout fall and winter. But what about Nick Boulton provides those that continue to a wealth of landscape knowledge and experilook dead into spring? ence. Connect with Nick The majority of the time at 435-773-6456 or these plants are still in landscape@swmlife.com a dormancy state. In gardening or landscaping, the term “dormancy” is used for perennial plants and their state of a brief metabolic inactivity or minimal activity where they reserve their energy and nutrition and send it to the roots instead of their foliage. Plants typically go dormant in response to adverse growing conditions, such as trees during the colder winter months, or grass during periods of excessive heat or drought. It’s important to remember that plants don’t die at this time but are simply in a hibernation state. While the outer leaves and above-ground foliage may die back, life still lies awake in the roots and core of the plant. Some plants pop back to life in early spring, while Crepe Myrtles, Mexican Petunias and Lantanas have a long dormancy period and don’t get any new green shoots until long after other plants have greened up. Typically Crepe Myrtles, although they look dead during fall, winter and early spring, will snap out of their hibernation 8 l www.swmlife.com
state when the outside temperatures are at a consistent 80 – 85 degrees. Mexican Petunias and Lantanas will sprout new growth from the root balls with warmer temperatures as well. How do you know if your plants are dormant or are, in fact, dead? Here are 3 easy ways to tell: Snap or Flexibility Test - Pick and end of a stem or branch about as big around as a pencil. Try snapping the branch in half by bending it. A dead branch or stem will snap easily and have a dried out look on the inside. On the other hand, a dormant branch will bend and when it splits open, it will expose wet wood on the inside. The Scratch Test - Try scratching part of the bark with your nail or a knife to see if the bark is dry and if the plant tissue under the bark is moist. If it is dry then it could be dead, but if it is moist, it is alive and well. Inspection of the Roots - Inspecting the roots is another way to see if the plant is healthy. This is a lot easier on indoor plants than outdoor plants, but can be done on both. A plant that is dormant will have healthy roots even if the rest of the plant still looks dead. If necessary, you can remove the plant from the pot and see if the roots look fresh and strong or if they have shriveled and died. Just remember to be careful when doing this as this can also hurt the plant if you’re not careful. Good luck with all your planting endeavors.
