Q: We didn't have a real bad winter like a lot of people, but there were the usual cold spells and snow. As plants have started growing, I have noticed that some plants, like the early forsythias, are only blooming at the bottom of the plant. Is this because of the cold?

A: Yes, the flower buds that were above the snow were killed by the cold weather and the ones below the snow were protected. Forsythia flower buds are not as hardy as the leaf buds. The entire length of the stems will leaf out as the flowers begin to fade.

Newer varieties of forsythia have been developed by university research at several northern states. They have flower buds hardy to as low as -35F, while older plants have flower buds only hardy to -10F. If you plan on replacing only some of the forsythias, you may want to buy them when they are in bloom — the flowers on different varieties are not all the same color of yellow.

Meadowlark was jointly introduced by North Dakota State and South Dakota State Universities, in collaboration with the Arnold Arboretum. It will bloom even after temperatures down to -30F. Even though forsythias can be pruned into a hedge, they look best when allowed to grow into a natural fountain shape. Meadowlark has a natural spreading and arching shape that is 8 feet tall and 10 feet wide.

Northern Sun is another good choice for northern states. Introduced by the University of Minnesota, it will flower after temperatures drop to -30F and is the same size as Meadowlark.

Introduced by Iowa State University, Sunrise has flower buds hardy to -20F. It is a compact shrub with a mature height and width of 5 feet. Other new forsythia varieties include Northern Gold, New Hampshire Gold and Vermont Sun.

Q: I have a lot of roses of many kinds. Some are floribundas that require winter protection and others are shrub roses that have never needed winter protection in the past. All of them have black stems almost all the way down to the ground. Should I wait, or can I start pruning now?

A: You can prune the black dead stems on all of the roses now if you want to. In fact, I prefer to get it done while there is little else to do in the late winter and early spring.

On your hybrid roses, prune above the graft union, which is usually noticed by a large swelling or knot on the trunk. Cut back each stem to an outside pointing bud. If the black stems go all the way down to the graft union, then leave a few inches of black stems to see if there is any live growth above the union. If no green growth comes from the union, then the hybrid top of the plant is dead. The bottom portion with the roots may send up new stems from below ground, which will not have the same pretty flowers as the hybrid.

Shrub roses are not grafted, but rather they grow on their own root system. They can be pruned back as far as the dead black tissue on the stems. Even if the whole top died this winter, there may be new stems that come up from the roots.

Q: We have several evergreen hollies and yews with brown leaves and needles. Because they look dead, my husband wants to prune them back. However, I say they aren't dead and we need to see if they will grow this spring. What do you say?

A: Well, you are both right, but please wait on the pruning. Sure the leaves and needles look dead. Many of them are dead, because they tried to grow and use water when the warm sunshine was on them, even though the ground was frozen and the plant could not get water to the leaves. Look and you will see that most of dead leaves are on the sunny south or west sides of the plants and above any snow cover they might have had.

Find out if the new leaf buds at each leaf are dead or alive. If they are alive, the plant will grow new leaves to cover up the dead ones in the next few weeks. The dead leaves will drop away unnoticed. If the leaf buds are dead, then pruning out the dead stuff will be appropriate. Just give the plants a little more time to grow.

Email questions to Jeff Rugg at [email protected]. To find out more about Jeff Rugg and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.