My Oregon grape holly turned all brown this winter. I have three questions. First of all, what went wrong? Second, can I prevent this from happening again? And third and most important is… is it dead?
What went wrong is called winter desiccation, or drying due to cold temperatures. This past winter we had a prolonged cold period where the ground froze very deeply. Plants like this lose water every day through their leaves and they cannot take up ice, they’ve got to have liquid water.
When the ground freezes and the wind blows, the leaves can dry out. This isn’t as big a problem in places where you have a typical heavy snow cover. This year we had about six inches of snow and down here the leaves are just fine.
Can it be prevented? You bet. Go to your local nursery or garden center and get hold of an anti-desiccant. This is a plastic coating, gets on the leaves and keeps them from losing water.
The third question and most important: is it dead? Certainly not; if we look at the buds they’re fine. And if you’re not sure from the buds, scrape the branch with your thumbnail and if it’s a bright green or yellow underneath your twigs are still good. You may lose all of these leaves, but they’ll be replaced by new growth in the spring.
Winter Desiccation…
- Is drying due to cold temperatures
- Occurs when plants lose water through their leaves and cannot take up ice
- Can be prevented by using an anti-desiccant
- Has not killed the plant if you can find bright green or yellow underneath the bark