It’s been a hard hit to see plants that have been growing for years withering away due to the freezing temps. The record lows made survival for most of our warm weather plants impossible. So where do you go from here? What do the experts prescribe? – Patience mostly.

It’s too soon to tell the extent of the storm’s toll on our local flora—and in most cases, it’s too early to act as well. The idea for the next few months is to learn to love ugly. That sounds a bit harsh, but many plants in our landscapes have sustained considerable damage, and many may resprout if we are patient.

Below, we break down the difference between repairable damage and rotting decay.

Gauge A Plants Condition: Twigs should still be pliable or springy. Damaged leaves should shed naturally if the stems remain undamaged—a twig with dead leaves that do not drop naturally is a bad sign. Green is good!

Practice Patience, Don’t Prune Everything: If you can wait to cut back anything that you think has been frost-damaged, it’d probably be a good idea to just wait. As the plants leaf back out over the spring, you can see how far back the plants have died.” By then, if the tips of a plant haven’t rebounded, you can usually cut back to healthy growth.

Mushy vegetation is the exception: It’s safe to remove now. If it’s wet and mushy and rotting, that’s stuff to take out.

Contact one of our professional for an evaluation of your landscape.