Now that we are safely on this side of winter I can make a few observations about the surprise survivors of the coldest winter in our area in 20 years.

First up, kiwi.

Last year I planted fuzzy kiwi, Actinidia chinensis ‘Vincent.’ Fuzzy kiwi, unlike hardy kiwi, is only expected to survive safely down to 10-15 degrees F, so I was very concerned about my young plants since we got down into the single digits several times.

I was very relieved to see this:

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I’m hoping for lots of vigorous growth this year now that I know it has made it through the first winter.

Second, gotu kola. (Note added after original post: incorrect ID, this is glechoma, see comments section)

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Lastly, Olive. It looks bad in this picture, but I think overall the news is good.

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Battered but not defeated, her leaves are dead but her stems still show signs of life.

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She passed the scratch test (scratch the surface of the bark and look for green tissue) and I have hope new leaves will soon emerge.

Do you have garden survivor stories from this or other particularly cold winters? Something you were sure was a goner that came back to life?