Cold fronts seem to hit us by surprise some years. Keep in mind that covering plants will protect and promote better growth in early spring. Protection by covering and even putting a strand of Christmas lights around the plant will help protect from frosts. Using old bed sheets and blankets are easy fix.
The majority of damage will probably occur with tropical plants. Plants with large leaves and fleshy stems like banana plants, elephant ears, spider lilies, gingers, cannas, and split-leaf philodendrons will have the most damage. Many of the above plants will have not only brown leaves, but a stinky water soaked greenery. It is extremely important to address these plants quickly.
As water freezes, it actually causes the cell membranes to sever and releases the liquid inside, giving the plant the water-soaked appearance. The damage is accelerated in light, so those tropicals in full sun often have more damage than those in shade than those that left covered for a couple of extra days.
For those plants that have obvious damage, the question then becomes whether to cut them back or not. In most cases, less is better. Plants that have bare stems or a few small leaves that appear to have turned black due to the freeze should be left. Excessive pruning could expose the rest of the plant to additional damage if another major freeze occurs in the near future.
An easy way to remember if you should prune or not after a freeze is to use the phrase “Remove the mush.” If the freeze damage to plants shows up as watersoaked leaves that are beginning to rot, it is important to get rid of those quickly. If left unchecked, bacterial and fungal disease can attack these areas and work its way down to the undamaged part of the plants.
Since you are dealing with plants that might have bacterial rots, I’d also suggest taking a bucket with 10% bleach water (1 part bleach to 9 parts water) with you during your cleanup pruning. Dip your clippers in the solution after you cut each branch, and especially before moving onto another plant. This simply sanitary practice will help to kill bacteria and fungi could be passed from one plant to another on your clippers.
For the most part, your landscape probably will fare better than you expect. St. Augustine grass that was still holding on to green blades, will probably look a little browner. That’s ok, our warm season grasses will often turn brown in the winter. That is why they are called warm season grasses. Just wait until spring when turf starts growing again and your lawn will green up nicely. Also, don’t try to force a greener lawn with fertilizer now. Wait until March to fertilize.
