While you may not be able to “feel the burn,” you will definitely be able to see the burn.

Some of our evergreens are struggling. Notice the yellow, brown or red leaves on normally green plants, and the dead-looking limbs on the trees and shrubs in your yard. Are you pines piqued, boxwoods brown, rhododendrons revolting or are your spruces sickly? These usually year-round green machines may have suffered as a result of the vigorous winter that has finally passed.

One problem that can be affecting some of our evergreen trees is winter burn. After a really rough winter, trees are feeling the heat. Cold temperatures, frozen ground and blustery winds are the forces that tortured many of our evergreen trees this past season. The most damaged areas occur on the sides of the plant that face the sun or are most exposed to wind.

Evergreen trees and shrubs are generally well adapted to cold weather. They have specialized leaves that can be thick and waxy or thin and narrow to prevent water loss. Desiccation is the enemy. However, sometimes these adaptations cannot win against a severe season.

With the ground frozen for so long last winter, the roots of these plants weren’t able to uptake enough water. Winds dried out the leaves, and salt spray exacerbated the problems, leading to the tree’s dehydration. Low soil moisture was the final factor in their suffering. Water lost to evaporation cannot be replaced quickly enough, and winter burn results.

Other plants that can be affected include yew, arborvitaes, azaleas and holly. If your plants have this problem, there are things that can be done to help them. Remove the dead limbs and branches. Some fertilizer can provide a boost, and mulching may also be beneficial. Watering is also recommended. A bit of special attention can go a long way to bringing them back to health.

Trees and shrubs are not the only plants that experienced (like most of us) some sort of burn-out. Grasses had their own issues. Snow mold or snow scald might be the culprit of the turf troubles. 

Snow mold and snow scald can occur after long periods of cold, wet weather and excessive snow cover. Water-soaked spots of grass will initially turn orange and brown or dark red, then fade to gray and tan. Areas of less than eight inches to up to three feet can be affected, depending on which organism is causing the damage.

Various fungi cause these conditions, and sometimes white or grey mycelium can be seen covering the dying grasses.

So winter’s wrath continues to affect us and our plants even into the spring. No matter if some of your trees and shrubs have suffered or your grasses’ growth stunted, we all can rejoice that spring has finally come. American poet Henry Timrod called this season “a true reconstructionist,” which is hopeful for both the plants and our own psyches.  

But subtler was A.A. Milne who described this exchange in When We Were Very Young:

She turned to the sunlight
And shook her yellow head,
And whispered to her neighbor:
“Winter is dead.”

  Suzan Bellincampi is director of the Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary in Edgartown, and author of Martha’s Vineyard: A Field Guide to Island Nature.