Coping With Hail Damage

I’ve been gardening for many years, so I guess I should count myself lucky that only one hailstorm has ever come my way. To be honest, though, as I look out at my shredded garden, which was pummeled by marble-size hail (not small marbles, the shooters) on May 31, I don’t feel very lucky. And that’s the big reason why I wanted to write about this topic.

In the big picture, having your garden flattened by hail is a small problem when you consider all the bone-crushing things going on in the world right now. But I admit, I could barely speak as I watched chunks of ice fall from the sky and squash my tomatoes and peppers, rip limbs from my shrubs, make mincemeat out of my hostas, and tear all the flowers from my newly blooming bleeding hearts and Virginia Bluebells.

On the bright side, the storm happened so early that we still have time to replant tomatoes and other veggies harmed by the hail. It’s fine to leave minimally damaged veggies alone because they’ll likely recover. But those with broken or badly scraped stems should be replaced. They’ll never grow well, and even if they do, all the wounds will make them much more susceptible to disease.

Unless your trees and shrubs lost most of their leaves, they’ll probably be fine. You’ll want to prune off damaged parts. But first be sure check to see whether it’s a good time to prune your type of tree. Pruning at the wrong time of year can invite disease and insect problems. Check out this University of Minnesota Extension article for pruning timing and other advice: www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/horticulture/DG0628.html.

Annuals aren’t as likely to survive a hailstorm as perennials are because their root systems are not as established. Still, even if your petunias are nearly liquefied, give them a few days to perk up before deciding to rip them out and replace them. Some annuals can be amazingly resilient and may surprise you with their ability to tough out a beating.

It’s back breaking, but if you can stand it, trim the tattered foliage off all of your perennials. It’s not helping the plant anymore and may even be taking up energy the plant needs to heal. It’s easier to just hack everything to the ground. But resist this temptation because plants need their foliage to help gather the energy they need to survive from year to year.

Soft-stemmed perennials like bleeding hearts should be cut down to the ground if they were severely damaged. If not, just cut down the mangled stems. Perennials with tougher stalks should be in better shape. But you may still need to cut off broken and torn leaves and stems. The more you have to remove, the more likely it will be that you’ll have less flowering and growth next year. To help damaged plants get over their trauma, try working some compost or slow-release fertilizer into the soil around them as soon as you can and keep them well watered.

A version of this post originally appeared in the Southwest Journal.