I’ll bet if you surveyed the landscapes of the average home here in New England, you would find that the rhododendron was near the top of the list as one of the most common plants found on people’s properties. This year, many of the larger-leaf rhododendrons have at least some winter burn, with several plants looking like they are completely dead.

You might have a plant on your property that looks terrible, while the one beside it looks beautiful. It’s impossible to know exactly why one plant does so much better than another, so close to each other, but it’s definitely been the case this season.

On my Friday morning walk, I took a few pictures of plants within a couple of hundred yards of each other. The PJM rhododendron, a small-leaf one, is in full flower, and the leaves look great. Many of these smaller-leaf plants seem to have fared well through the winter.

The PJM rhododendron, a small-leaf one, is in full flower and the leaves look great.Dave Epstein

Some rhododendrons like this one are looking well this spring.Dave Epstein

But some of the larger-leaf rhododendrons, hollies, and even some of the cedars are not as healthy because such broader leaf evergreens lose moisture throughout the winter. This is one of the reasons why the rhododendrons curl when the temperature gets to 32 degrees. They are trying to protect that moisture loss. If you notice curling in the growing season, there’s likely a problem, perhaps a disease or an insect attacking your plant.

A rhododendron plant suffering from winter burn.Joe Bruso/Massachusetts Rhododendron Society

You’ll also likely notice crispy brown leaves (or needles), especially at the top of the plants where the damage seems most prevalent. Rhododendrons have a reserved bud on the branches, and with adequate water, some of these branches should releaf this spring and into the early summer. If, however, the branches themselves are very brittle and if you scratch them with your thumbnail and you see no green at all, it is likely that there will be dieback, and it could be significant.

A broad-leaf rhododendron suffering from extreme winter damage.Joe Bruso/Massachusetts Rhododendron Society

There are a few factors that likely have contributed to the widespread winter damage of broadleaf trees and evergreens. First and foremost, would be the fact that we had a drought going into the winter and lasting throughout the cold season. Rhododendrons are shallow-rooted plants, so their roots don’t go deep enough to tap into moisture deep in the ground. This very dry topsoil likely put a lot of stress on these plants as we went into winter.

We also had typical cold weather in December, January, and February. And there wasn’t much snow cover at the beginning when the cold arrived, so the ground froze deeply, preventing these shallow-rooted plants from accessing the limited available moisture. The winter sun, especially on plants that have a southern exposure, could have also contributed to the plant burn. The reflecting light off snow can be another factor, drawing moisture out of the plant’s leaves.

A holly bush showing signs of winter burn on Friday.Dave Epstein

So now you might be wondering what you can do to help the plants. First of all, be patient. It will take a while for new buds to form and open up. You can help them along by being sure that the soil has adequate moisture. This doesn’t mean soaking the ground, however, because you could create root rot if the ground is too wet.

You could try a quarter cup of an organic liquid fertilizer along with some organic granular fertilizer, and incorporate that into the soil with several gallons of water. Adding some compost or leaf mulch to the area can also help improve the soil health.

If we have average precipitation through May, the drought won’t worsen, but if things dry out significantly, you might have to augment with your own watering again into the summer.

“Don’t prune the rhodos or anything else until the first of July, since dormant buds along the stems can take up to that long to start growing,” said Joe Bruso, president of the Massachusetts Rhododendron Society. Remember, he said, “patience.”

If at that point your tolerance for what you’re looking at and how your plant has responded is low, then remove the plant and replace it with something else. Look around your yard or others for plants that have fared well this winter, and that might give you an idea of what you can replace them with. Think of it this way: A dead plant presents a new opportunity to bring renewed beauty to your landscape. Happy gardening!

Have a gardening question for Dave? Send it to weather@globe.com, and we will include it in an upcoming column from Dave.