Shrubs and flowering plants may have been harmed by this winter’s cold temperatures. According to horticulturists with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, tree and shrubs native to Iowa should have suffered little to no damage, but Japanese maple, flowering dogwood and Japanese flowering cherry may have been damaged. Also, with temperatures falling to negative 20 degrees, some forsythia cultivars may have been damaged and few flowers may be produced this spring.

In addition, deer have eaten foliage on the bottom of many arborvitae due to the snow cover. For more information click here.