I’ve had a few unusual problem this year, and I think it was caused by a late freeze after a warm week. First, I noticed that one of my Golden Rain trees had tiny new leaf shoots that died and got crispy. The leaves at the top of the tree were OK, but all the lower ones died. A few days later, though, I saw that new buds were forming on the branches, and those new leaves are now coming out. Whew!

I also noticed a few days ago that my butterfly bushes are struggling. One looks OK, but the other two also had leaf shoots that got crispy and died. Looking down into the clump, there are some newer green shoots coming out. I pruned these down to about 12″ back in March, I think. Perhaps that’s too low, but I have read that they should be pruned nearly to the ground. I think I’m going to need to be more cautious next year with their pruning. I gave them a good soaking with the hose, and I hope it helps them recover.