I have oak trees so they never go completely bare, only the Turkey oak will completely lose all leaves before the new leaves come in, when I see new leaves on the oaks, I know Spring is here
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I'm surprised about the pentas, mine are well established, only seen them damaged when we had temps below freezing for several hours, the tall red and deep pink are the hardiest. I have a huge five foot tall clump that is under a bare crape myrtle tree on the north side of my garden, and they are completely unfazed, so maybe it was the lack of water in your case, Alice.
Good news, looks like some much needed rain coming, and I don't see temps lower than 50 here all the way through the 20th of February according to Weatherunderground's extended forecast. All my plants are back outside again
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