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This spring we will see things we haven’t seen in a number of years.  Temperatures dropped below zero multiple times this winter.  Many plants in our landscapes are marginally hardy which means they may be killed back or burned in very cold winters.  Expect die back on crepe myrtle, butterfly bush, some azaleas, and possible cherry laurel.  Roots of these plants will be fine.  Also, even hardy southern magnolia will have leaf burn.  While leaves will look bad, new foliage should be fine.  However, remember that southern magnolia doesn’t leaf out until after Memorial Day so be patient when they still look like the last rose of summer in late May.  Many other plants, especially evergreens, may show leaf discoloration, including boxwood and holly.

 

As of August 31, 31.43 inches of rain had fallen in 2013 vs. 24.39 in 2012.  Additionally, we had 6 days of 100+ in 2012,  and only a few days topping 90 in 2013.  Still, August this year, and the last half of July, were dryer than normal, and while not the extreme of 2012 by any means, the Palmer drought index put us into drought last week:

 

Here is the year to year comparison for the US Drought Monitor.  The drought monitor is slow to update but it works for a comparison:

2013:

 

2012:

Note that the recent drought monitor shows no dry conditions in Ohio, while the recent Palmer shows moderate drought.  In many ways, I consider the Drought Monitor almost worthless for timely comparison, but it does OK for a year to year comparison.  Best use:  Compare 2012 Drought Monitor to 2013 Palmer!