Oh my word! I'm glad that you are safe! The garden will recover, but what a lot of cleanup you will have!

My husband helped me drag all my mini roses inside as the hail was falling. I put everything else against the wall. The only plant that had any trouble was a cherry tomato in my raised bed. I had not caged it yet. I went outside after the storm passed and my cherry tomato was bent at the soil. I almost fainted haha well I felt the stalk and it was not snapped just bent so I caged it real quick and it's starting to rain again. I hope your plants are ok!

Anytime they say it's going to hail it never does! What the heck?

Hare, where are you located? We are on the NW side of S. A. . The hail storm must have covered a wide area as a friend in Sequin had golf ball size hail also. My poodle dog Sport was having a great time chasing all the bouncing balls in the yard until we were able to grab and bring him inside ... LOL.

Ragna, so sorry that this happened to your beautiful garden. You have a great attitude about it, but I know it hurts to see your plants so damaged. The storm that ravaged Wylie missed me by a hair, and I am so grateful. Everything I have is in the open so there would be no way to protect it. I called North Haven Gardens yesterday looking for a particular plant and the lady told me that they were expecting a shipment from Wylie, but that the nursery had been wiped out by the storm.

I'm sorry to hear about all the damage.

My neighbor ran over Monday evening and helped me move some things around I was just working away in the garden and she came and told me there were hail warnings in our area. Luckily it was all small size so no damage. Thankful for neighbors that watch out for me.

Carrie and all, I can only imagine "the hit" that growers and nursery people took (pun intended). But there is one thing I can say about my place: I won't have to worry about the roofers damaging plants when they replace the shingles and patio cover! ... :-)

Oddly enough I'm not in despair or grief. If it's one thing my years on earth have taught me it not what happens to you that's important. It's how you perceive and deal with it. I've learned to take things as they come and handle them the best I can. As the little plaque that my daughter gave me says; "Don't take life so seriously. It isn't permanent."

I know it's going to take some effort to clean it all up and I'll have to make decisions on how far to cut damaged limbs back. Maybe you all can help me with those decisions.

For instance, do I need to prune below the damaged places on this thyrallis pictured below or will it recover:

How about the branches on this bougainvillea? Will the damaged bark heal over if it doesn't extend more than half-way around the stems, or will the foliage above the damage languish?

And on this bougainvillea; cut it all the way back? I'm glad one bolting Crawford lettuce plant (on the right) was miraculously left standing to produce seed for next year...

No big decision on how far to cut back this plumeria. Several plummies had large limbs broken off ...

The EEs are shredded of course, but they'll grow back. This finger leaf philodendron must have taken a direct hit by a very large ball of ice. Their foliage will grow back too ...

I'll have to decide whether to keep the big agaves or take them out. If the damaged leaves are cut back, and that will mean most of them, how long will it take to regrow leaves and look pretty again?

I'll be pulling most of the larkspurs. Hopefully there are some smaller plants that will grow well enough to produce seed for next year. The New Zealand castor bean will grow back from the roots ...

I would say the weather took a bite out of Tally's columnar cactus. Thankfully it grows fast ...

Right now I don't know where I'm going to put all the debris. Pile it up somewhere I guess and slowly add it to the recycle and trash bins.

By fall most of the plants will be pretty again, if somewhat reduced in size. Life goes on ... :-)

Ragna, so sorry that y'all received such damage from the hail. Even though I'm sure you hurt to see such damage to both your home and plants, your outlook is one more of us should have. I love the truth in the saying on the plaque your daughter gave you.

Don't over do it in getting all the debris cleaned up!

Oh! So sorry to hear the hail hit your beautiful garden and am inspired by your attitude. (I'd be swearing & throwing stuff.)
I've seen references to using florist tape and popsicle sticks for stems broken by hail - wonder if the florist tape could act as a temporary skin on the plumeria?

Ragna, It hurts just to look at the images. I'm glad you and Bob are safe. It will be a real chore to clean it all up. Hugs and prayers.

Sorry about the damage to plants and structures, Ragna. I've seen stuff on the news...house windows blown out, cars windows blown out, roofs damaged, etc. in the greater SA and Helotes area...and who knows where else. Insurance companies must be scrambling like crazy, not to mention the stores that sell whatnot to at least temporarily fix/cover things. Weather forecasts were of little help in a case like this. We had a little hail, but minor, not even as bad as our last hail earlier this month. We had about a inch of rain, so at least no watering for a while...especially since rain will return.

Hey -- we're right in style. We now have a 'green roof' ... lol

And so the clean-up begins. I'm glad I'm married to a man who doesn't cry over split milk. You just clean it up!

We had filled two bins. Lucky for us a city truck came by and emptied both of them ...

And yes, we know enough to take the job in small increments ...

First we get the big stuff out of the way. Cleaning out the damage on the plants will come later.

And so it goes -- literally ... :-)

Wow that's crazy! That storm really did a number on some people's houses. Glad everyone is ok!

Holy cow!! :(

Omar

I had hail damage to two plumerias a couple of years ago...............not as deep as yours seem to be, but they healed themselves and are healthy as can be.

Sheesh , what can I say. Been there , one year ago. I don't think I had it as bad as you. I have metal roofs.

Mara, what about the agaves? If all the leaves are cut back on a large one that has been badly damaged how long will it take for enough of them to grow back for the plant to look good again?

Mine were not shredded like yours. I had BIG stones , but not as many big ones as yours. I did not have to cut the agave leaves off and took comfort in old eyes and that they were far away. I did not focus on the 3" craters. The next growth seemed to cover it. I can still see some large polka dots but I just choose not to focus on them. I didn't get shredding that you got. I am thinking that there will be significant growth later this summer. Their growth season is just starting. I was devastated last spring and as the summer went on , it hurt less. This spring I really have to look for the marks. My guess is that after the trim, they will be skinny plants this year and you will be back with more normal plants next year.

Expect rot from the ugly raw craters on the prickly pear and cactus. Make clean swipes with a knife and dust with cinnamon. AND be very aware of rain. I lost lots after the fact with the following rains last spring, but it was rot from above , not from the roots.

In one gardening book that Laura Springer Ogden wrote, she has a whole chapter oriented to designing for hail. What plants are more capable at absorbing the damage and rebounding from hail. She was living in eastern Colorado at the time.

All excellent advice! Never heard of 'disinfecting' against rot with cinnamon, but have a big container from an Indian store so have plenty, and I'll need it all. Thank you Mara.

Cinnamon is a natural fungicide. I am always running around my garden looking for my cinnamon for cooking. I also do not think the hail came down as hard as yours.

Yes, I think SA area had the "perfect storm", and not in a good way. We were very lucky here. I haven't been into the city, but one person said you can easily tell which cars had been garaged at the time of the storm. 300 new BMW's were hit bad, just at one dealer, in one part of SA. Hail sales to follow. Now they're talking about possible flooding soon...

Spring time in Texas and I am on the road Saturday and Sunday. I am debating plans. Rubber boots will be in the car.

Oh my gosh Ragna, can't even begin to imagine cleaning all of that up. I'm so sorry. I can come and help this weekend, just let me know.

I was talking to another person , not far and he cleaned 30 wheel barrowloads from the driveway and front porch.

Lorelei, thank you so much, but no need to come. The offer is much appreciated, but Bob and I are making good progress.

I pulled most of the smashed plants in the back yard yesterday as I wanted to get that done before the ground dried out. Literally scores of bolting cilantro and lettuce, hundreds (it seemed) of larkspurs and other plants were pulled and others cut back to the roots. I didn't count the plastic bags we filled, but it was many. They will be fed out to the trash and recycle bins weekly. On pickup day we plan to top our neighbor's bins, with their permission of course.

I'm taking this event as another opportunity to recreate the garden as I did when the chilli thrips showed up and then when the big tree came down. It's all good and is fun planning. The aching back is just a small aside ... :-)

Oh, we had one injury to a young turtle from a hail stone. It's shell was cracked, but is being treated and expected to make a full recovery.

Ragna, Re your note ...."opportunity to recreate the garden as I did when the chilli thrips showed up and then when the big tree came down." Rainbow now has in their first shipment of "Torch Glow." I'd say that they presently have about 15 left in stock. (This is the bougie that you had mentioned.)

Poor poor turtle!

I hope the turtle heals well!

Are the chilli thrips no longer a concern? I remember when you completely changed your gardens because they had invaded.

Unfortunately the chilli thrips are still around. After the cold winter right after I removed most of the susceptible plants I didn't see any evidence of them.

After an average winter the damage shows up mid to late October so the plants look good for most of the year and I can enjoy the spring and summer flowers on the few roses I have left.

After this year's warm winter they'll probably be seen doing their thing; twisted, pale, crinkled leaves on new tender growth of many plants, and distorted buds and black lines on roses by mid to late summer.

As bad as it is for us home gardeners it's much worse for the farmers in warm climates. They are now all over the vegetable growing fields in California.

Ragna, so sorry to hear about all the damage from the hail! Definitely not a pleasant experience. The area of town in Austin where I live got hit with slightly larger than golf ball sized hail 6-7 years ago. It's been a crazy year of weather and this weekend is supposed to be nuts, too.

Wow. Sorry you got so much damage to your beautiful plants. Seems like there has been so much hail already this year.

More rain :( I know we need it, but just wish it wouldn't poor down on us all at once. That's San Antonio for you...drought or flood. No in between.

I'll tell you what -- removing big agaves is no easy job. We're removing this one as it as very badly damaged and besides pups were popping up 15 ft away. I don't want to have to deal with that.

You have to be extra careful not to get the sap on you and especially not in your eyes. Agave sap is very caustic ...

I'll never get this one of of the pot so I sawed the shredded leaves off with a bread knife. The cut pieces will dry up and maybe it look okay in a year or two, ya' think?

A question was posted to the plumeria forum about how far back to cut damaged limbs. No answers yet. The more I ponder the more I think they need cutting back below the damage. What do y'all think?

Happy gardening ... ;-) LOL

ROTFL ...!!!!! Oh well, some things just can't be helped ...

And it's not the even the only one! There are three more ... :-)

But what else are you gonna' do when you've got this to start with???

Whoo hoo ... "Cutting edge of garden fashion" ... hahaha! Well, we'll see how they turn out ...

You know, if one puts all those agaves close together , the repetition of this peculiar form might be a real knock out. I see definite possibilities

Oh yeah. I can see it now; like soldiers in armor marching across the yard holding their spears upright ... hahaha!

Or a bunch of spears poking out of foliage.

Maybe I should stick a blue bottle on them ... whoo hoo!

You could use them in a game of tossed circular garlands like horseshoes, but lighter.

Just so y'all know I have more than one style!

Here is my fabulous 'pineapple' cut ...

And here is the stunning "pirouette" ...

I should patent them, don't you think?

So it was supposed to storm and flood all week. Woke up Monday morning and moved everything in the garage just to be on the safe side. Hardly any rain. Moved plants back outside yesterday...storm :\ lol And one of my mini roses had some kind of webs and dust/dirt on the leaves. It was getting so full and lush. After removing all the bad stuff it looks skinny. Hosed it down and am hoping it's nothing serious. :( I hope all of your stuff is doing ok.

Nothing died other than the few things that I decided to take out; mostly some big agaves and two huge Mangave 'macho mocha' that had overgrown their pots . Everything that's left is leafing out and getting a fresh start with my new simplified garden plan.

So with the 'simplified plan' in mind I went to Rainbow Gardens yesterday and bought a few things; blackfoot daisies, red pentas, globe mallows, and angelonia to brighten things up. Bob said, "I thought you were cutting back". "Uh huh, I am. You can't tell?"

I was happy with the inch and a half rain we got this morning since it helped wash the fertilizer in.

The little turtle has been doing well. He was so happy to be released back into 'the wild' of our yard this morning that he took off running.

I love Rainbow Gardens. I think I may have some damage after all. Yes I think I need some replacement plants too. :D lol

I'm hoping the showers this morning washed off my rose some more. I know they all love rain water but they were being rained on when I stuck them in the garage so hopefully we can get some sun for a day or two.

When it first hit I thought "Oh no -- not again!" but we must have gotten just the edge of it. The pieces were small, nothing as large as the pictures directly above, and as far as I can tell they did no damage.

Today I'll be cutting all the limbs off one of the big sago palms. Every limb is broken off down to half or two thirds from the first hail storm.

Yeah I guess the medical center got hit hard this time. It looked like it was snowing hail and it came out of nowhere. I got most of my plants moved up against the wall so I think they are ok. Haven't checked yet.