On 03/01/2011 10:25, kate wrote:
hi

i'm a gardening newbie.

just got back this morning from xmas away to find all my shrubs looking
horrid& black after their time covered with snow

will they recover in the spring by themselves? should i prune all the
black leaves away (won't be much left!!)? or are they beyond hope?

Leave any "dead" plants until at least early June before taking any sort
of action. If a plant is alive, it will usually have started into
growth by early June.

for future reference, is is a good idea to shake the snow off the leaves
asap instead of leaving it there?

Depends on the plant and whether or not it's the "right type of snow".
The worst type of snow is the heavy, very wet snow that falls when the
temperature is barely at freezing point. That will hang onto shrub and
tree branches, weigh them down, and eventually may break them. This
snow will get thicker and heavier if it does melt slightly and then
refreeze as ice. Further snow falls will compound the problem.
However, if the snow is very dry and light (powder snow), then leave it.
It is not heavy enough to weigh branches down, and being composed of a
lot of air is a pretty good insulator, thus protecting less hardy plants
from very cold temperatures.

--

Jeff