Patience Please

Patience is a virtue that very few people have these days. In a world where everything is instant, I really think society is forgetting how to pause and wait for things. Fortunately there are still activities that test this dying skill… gardening is one of them!

Spring is when gardeners must exercise the most patience… waiting for that slow process of things to wake up and start growing. In the excitement of the season, we want to see everything emerge as quickly as possible.

But this is not always the case!

Plants, like people, have their own timelines. While some plants were ‘off to the races’ in February (I am talking about you, Witchhazel… and I thank you for your stunning show amidst the ice and snow!) there are the teenagers of the group who are still lingering in bed! Unfortunately for these ‘adolescent’ plants (Hibiscus spp. [Rose of Sharon and perennial hibiscus] Buddleja spp. [butterfly bush], Caryopteris spp. [bluebeard] and warm-season grasses, to name some of the more common ones) they are often pulled out in early Spring by impatient gardeners thinking their plants didn’t survive the winter.

Like this grass, for example… it looks dead right?

WAIT! Before pulling out ‘dead’ perennials like this grass, take a really close look at the base of the plants…

I spy some new growth! Yay! It’s alive and just needs more time to fully wake up to the world.

Now how about this Rose of Sharon…

This also looks dead as a doornail- especially since every other plant on the property has started growing. In the case of woody plants such as this one, you’ll need to do a scratch test to figure out if there is still life in the plant. Scratch off the bark on a branch, if it is green underneath, it is alive!

So now let’s take a closer look at the Rose of Sharon…

Ah ha! Green! So like the grass, this shrub just needs more time to ‘get into gear’ for the upcoming season.

It may be shocking to find life in plants that look so dead. The urge is definitely to pull out these awful looking plants to eliminate the last remaining evidence of winter’s icy grip… and here enters the element of patience. Resist the urge! These plants will ‘pop’ soon enough. Their sluggishness may drive you crazy right now, but you’ll forget about it in a few weeks.

In the meantime, try singing to them... at least it will divert your attention from wanting to remove them from your garden, and it will give your neighbours something to talk about instead of your not-so-dead plants.