Q: My snapdragons look really damaged from cold. Do you think they will come back? Is there anything I can do to help them survive?Jenelle Hickman, email
A: I have seen snapdragons suffer a beating from winter cold and still look very nice in April. Gently finger-squeeze the stems of your plants. If they are firm, the snapdragons may recover. If the stems are mushy, the plant is dead. But even if they are goners, there's still plenty of time to replace them with pansies for winter color.
Q: I have four cherry laurels that are15 feet tall. They are very difficult to maintain at that height. Can I take them down to a foot above ground level?David Dickinson, Forsyth County
A: I have a cherry laurel in my backyard that fell over last summer due to a poor root system. In July I cut it up and removed it but left a stump about six inches tall. It now has several new sprouts that are three feet high. I am confident that you can prune your cherry laurels severely and then manage the new growth regularly to maintain smaller plants that match the size of your garden.
Q: My pansy boxes were covered in snow and the plants still look a bit limp. Can I give them some sort of first aid to help them recover and deal with cold again?Walt Gansser, email
A: The best thing you can do for pansies before cold weather hits is to water them. Pansies protect themselves by allowing cell moisture in the leaves to escape, thereby minimizing freeze damage. As long as the soil is not dry afterward they should reabsorb water and perk right back up when it gets warm.
Q: I have Leyland cypress trees along the edge of my property. Can I cut off lower limbs so I can get underneath with my lawn mower?Matthew Herber, Loganville
A: Practical concerns like yours give landscapes individuality. If you remove less than 25 percent of the total foliage on the Leyland cypresses, I don't foresee any problem. Once you remove the limbs, the trunk will not make new sprouts, so you can mow unimpeded in the future.
Q: Can you plant Meyer lemon bushes outside? I've had mine for three years. My husband is tired of moving it in and out and wants to know if I can just plant it outside and leave it. Sherry Mooney, email
A: I know your husband would wish for another answer, but Meyer lemon doesn’t have a chance of surviving a Georgia winter. Farmers in South Georgia are planting Satsuma oranges because they tolerate cold temperatures down to 15 degrees, if properly acclimated. You could order a small Satsuma tree online, plant it in a sheltered spot, and stand ready to cover it on cold nights. Even so, my bet is your husband would tire of that pretty quickly, too.
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