Signs of spring emerge despite winter conditions

Some daffodil foliage has already emerged a couple inches out of the ground along the south side of a building at the Chicago Botanic Garden due to the warming by sun exposure. These should still flower just fine later in the spring, though the emerged foliage may get damaged by the likely cold temperatures yet to come this winter.

If you have any bulb foliage peeking up in warm microclimates in your garden, there is no need to take any action. Any snowfall will help protect the foliage from cold temperatures.

• Winter is a good time to prune trees and shrubs. Overgrown, deciduous woody shrubs can be heavily pruned this month and next month to rejuvenate them.

Start by removing all dead wood. Prune old canes off at ground level, leaving several young canes. You may need to cut back the young growth if it is spindly.

If there are not any young canes, cut the large canes back to 2 to 3 feet from the ground. This will be unsightly, but if the plants are healthy, extensive new growth should start from the old canes in spring and fill in the plant.

Shrubs such as lilacs that formed flower buds last year will not bloom in 2019 when pruned aggressively this winter.

• If tree and shrub branches become covered with ice, let the ice melt gradually rather than cracking the ice with a heavy object.

If large evergreen branches become anchored to the snow, gently sweep snow with a soft broom and then elevate the branch from underneath. Do this slowly and carefully, and avoid trying to elevate the branch if you see or hear the branches cracking.

• Tim Johnson is director of horticulture at Chicago Botanic Garden, chicagobotanic.org.