Released: June 21, 2001

Gardens’ Hail Injury Often Worse in Looks Than Reality

MANHATTAN, Kan. – The severe summer storms that are part of life in the U.S. Great Plains can leave tender perennial plants and vegetable gardens looking like a war zone.

But hail damage, in particular, often looks worse than it really is, said Chuck Marr, horticulturist at Kansas State University.

"Wait at least three to four days to assess the results," he advised. "Once you’ve cleaned up the debris, you’ll probably find you have lost some leaves. But plants can rapidly develop new ones. Plus, hail usually comes with rain, and adequate soil moisture helps plants recover from this kind of damage."

Even when battered, leaves tend to act like an umbrella, Marr added. Hail can get past that protection and damage stems, however, when it’s intense, wind-driven and/or large-sized.

"A lot of breakage or other stem damage is much more serious than ripped-up leaves," he said. "If stems are involved, you have to assess whether plants are so severely injured that recovery might not be possible – whether you probably should just remove and replace them."

The horticulturist admitted that in his own garden, he tends to adopt a "wait-and-see" attitude, even for crops with no more than a slim chance. By summer, root systems are established. Roots also remain unharmed in hailstorms; so, they sometimes can help top growth make a seemingly remarkable comeback.

"My main interest is vegetables for the table," said Marr, who is K-State Research and Extension’s vegetables crops specialist. "More often than not, I’m ahead on both time and money if I allow plants time to recover, rather than immediately starting again fresh. So I just give damaged plants a little TLC [tender loving care] for a week or so and see how things go."

But, injured plant tissues can be a "welcome" sign for diseases during warm, humid weather.

That’s why Marr also recommends that gardeners apply a general-purpose fungicide on the plants that remain in gardens after a hail storm. Good application possibilities in the Great Plains include maneb or related compounds, as well as Fertilome Liquid Fungicide, Ortho Liquid Fungicide, or any of the similar products that have chlorothalonil as an active ingredient.

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K-State Research and Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the well-being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county Extension offices, experiment fields, area Extension offices and regional research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K-State campus, Manhattan.

Story by:
Kathleen Ward, Communications Specialist
kward@oznet.ksu.edu
K-State Research& Extension News