CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- While much of your yard may be lush and green after all the rain, an expert says some signs of the polar vortex are still emerging.
Boxwoods, a broad-leaf evergreen, have been hit particularly hard by the extreme cold and wind we suffered this winter.
University of Illinois Extension Horticulture Educator Richard Hentschel said evergreens look normal until they're supposed to grow, but the problem gets worse -- in this case, leaving yellow and dry leaves in the popular shrub.
The winter damage is widespread across northern Illinois and some of the worst Hentschel has seen in two decades.
He suggests pruning down to where you find green on the plant.
But he cautions that regrowth will take at least a month and will be limited to just new leaves -- not new branches.
If you're impatient, he said now is a great time to plant new shrubs so they have plenty of time to get established ahead of next winter.
