Re: plant worries
 

Does anyone know how far to cut back a plant that has been damaged terribly from the cold?. I will wait to spring, but not sure exactly at what point to prune. Most tops appear dead at this moment. Whole yard was damaged from the cold. I never felt cold like that in Florida before. My plants are in shock. Thanks for any ideas...ginnie

It depends on what they are. We had a cold snap this spring that apparently killed an old Viburnum bush....all the leaves shriveled up and it looked mega dead. We didn't get around to removing it
(over 5ft tall)...and over a month later it woke up and sent out more leaves! No flowers though that spring.

Some plants/bushes will recover and some won't. It depends on what they are.

You can look up frost tolerance on the net. There a zone charts and typically things that only grow in zones 9 and 10 require mostly those temps. But if the ground does not freeze, some things may survive yet. If you have impatiens or begonias and their stems are burst and mushy...(they are annuals here but grow year round in tropical areas)...they are gone.

Just Google the plant name and information will come up.
Dave's garden site often has good information.

This is an example of Dave's Garden information: Impatiens
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/2301/

Hi Mrs.D
 

Great information. I am going to need every bit of help I can get. Bananas, will shoot up new puppies. The plants close to the ground will be OK. Sea grapes will rally. Will look up all the rest, for best choice of action. I am going to be one very busy woman!!! ginnie:grouphug:

ginnie,
If the actual banana leaves are wrecked then you could take them off, but I wouldn't take off any of the burned or dead looking layers on their trunks right now. I'd leave that there until it's warmer because it'll protect the under layers which are probably fine still.

Hi Lara
 

Thanks....will keep all the brown on the plants until it is warmer weather. Everything in the yard got nipped. ginnie:hug: