Q: Last year, right as my magnolia was starting to flower, there was a bad frost, and no flowers survived. The flower buds did not fall off though. They lasted through the year and are still there. Any ideas as to what needs to be done? I hope I don't need to physically remove all the dead flower buds because this is a tall tree — about 25 feet tall.

A: I have been getting questions about magnolia trees over the past couple of weeks. Much of the information in my answer applies to other spring-blooming trees and shrubs.

Magnolia flower buds are very susceptible to being killed by freezing weather, especially when it follows an unseasonable warm spell. Flower buds are protected by scales (fuzzy ones on the magnolia) and chemical anti-freeze sugars that prevent ice crystals from forming. Those sugars provide for cell growth in the spring. As they are consumed, the cells are left with less and less protection, and a cold snap can kill the flowers in the bud.

Normally, the dead scales and flower parts fall off as the tree begins to grow leaves. This can happen days or weeks later. The stuff may not fall off quickly, but it will fall off. As long as the tree is flowering and sending out leaves this year, I wouldn't worry about the old flower buds.

Flower buds on spring-blooming plants tend to be less tolerant of cold than the leaf buds. The farther north or the higher in elevation you go, the less reliable spring-blooming plants become. They may grow just fine, but getting a good display of flowers becomes harder.

Q: In early March, we had weeks of unseasonably warm weather — some of my tulips and daffodils even bloomed — and then we were hit with 3 feet of snow and a week's worth of freezing temperatures. So I suspect that the magnolia buds were ready to bloom in early March but were then killed off by the snow and cold spell that followed. The tree now has full green leaves but is still covered with the dead flower buds that fall off to the touch, and the insides appear rotten.

Can I expect this tree to bloom ever again? My concern is that, if I recall correctly, in past years when the tree did bloom, next year's flower bud was at the center of the pink flower. So since the flowers never bloomed, and the buds are dead and rotten, where will next year's flower buds come from?

A: To a botanist, magnolia flowers are primitive. They have been found in fossils. The center portion of the flower that will produce the seeds does look like a flower bud but it isn't. Magnolia seedpods are unusually shaped and eventually produce large red seeds. The flower buds are formed at the ends of the new growth on branches in late summer and early fall. They are not related to the old flowers or seedpods. Your tree may even form more buds than usual this year, due to not spending energy producing any seeds. If next year's weather is good, the tree should flower properly.

A spring frost alone shouldn't be enough to harm the tree. If a spring-blooming plant is sending out new leaves later than usual, that may be due to the leaf buds sustaining some damage from the cold weather and the tree trying to recover. As long as it sends out full-sized leaves over the next few weeks, it will be fine. If the leaves are stunted in size, then the tree may have other problems, like borers or scale insects that are working with the cold to harm the tree.

Email questions to Jeff Rugg at info@greenerview.com. 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.