Shrubs took a hit this winter

Our chokeberry shrub

The snow was unrelenting this winter. Snowstorm after snowstorm--and sometimes ice storms--piled mountains of snow on mountains of snow. This constant layer of snow probably helped our herbaceous plants, but it was hard on our shrubs.

As you can see in the photo, many of the branches were snapped off. I'm cutting these broken branches off cleanly, but some shrubs will have to be cut back almost to the ground. I'm sure they'll regrow, and it may even allow some to grow into better shapes than they were in before.

The shrub I worry about the most, though, is my buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis). It was flattened this winter, and its branches were still trapped under the last bit of snow until yesterday. I hope it is able to straighten up some. It's still a young shrub, but it had three or four flowers last year.