Lenten Roses are one of the first signs of spring

If you have Lenten roses, they are just beginning to appear in the Northeast. Winter has been hard in many areas with snow and ice and rain and then more snow and ice. This is very hard on the leaves of the Lenten rose. If they look strong and undamaged, I leave several of them, but if they are mashed and brown and ragged, just cut them off. The flower buds which, should just be breaking through, should be left alone to grow and bloom. They should last until May or later. New leaves will grow later in the spring and provide lovely greenery throughout the summer, fall and winter.