Over the next few weeks, we will be addressing the freeze damage to plants which everyone has suffered. We are working on a video giving easy to follow instructions about what to prune and how.
It is not critical, and in fact, may be too early, to start most pruning immediately. If you have palm leaves hanging down, you may prune them as soon as this last freeze (hopefully) passes. Gingers, which look blowtorched, may be cut to 18″ tall this weekend if desired. Blackened, wilted herbaceous plants like Mexican petunia (Ruellia) and shrimp plant can be cut close to the ground. But woody shrubs like ixora and plumbago, small trees like citrus, and sad looking philodendrons should be left alone another week until we can more closely determine the level of damage, and therefore where to prune.
Watch for us to address these recovery issues here in the Garden News and on social media. Email us at info@gillnursery or message us on Facebook and Instagram with your related questions, so our upcoming instruction video is as complete as possible in helping you through this temporary setback.
– James Gill
John Hardie says
I’ll be eager to see whether the trees in the King’s Forest recover. I’m concerned about the wild olives, poinciana, and anacacho orchids.
William Kowalik says
I have two anacacho orchid trees in my yard near Kerrville and the have survived temps as low as 15 in the past.
Helen DuBois says
How long will it take for citrus trees like lime and valley lemons to show damage? What can we do to help them recover?
James Gill says
You will scratch the bark and check for green, may have to wait a few more days. Cut back to live wood above the graft. If there is no live wood until below the graft, remove the tree or attempt to do a new graft (difficult and iffy). Remove any sprouts that occur from below the graft. Fertilize twice in spring and once again September 15, and water weekly if we don’t get rain, to help it recover as fast as possible. We have made it through this in the past and we will again.