Frost Damage on Plants
Don't cut the dead foliage off your plants! I know it's tempting and it doesn't look great, but we are all going to have to deal with it. Those dead leaves protect the remaining plant. If you trim it all off and we get another cold snap, you could be in for even more damage.
Add more compost and mulch to your planting beds. You don't want to smother your plants, but extra insulation never goes amiss. This is especially true this early in the winter. Typically February is our coldest month, in my experience.
Prevent further damage by wrapping plants with freeze cloth in any future cold snaps. Remember, the plants are already damaged, so we really want to take whatever measures we can to ensure a good recovery come spring.
Recovery
Many plants that are damaged will need to wait until the weather warms to truly recover. Again, I know it is difficult to live with sad plants, but we all need to be strong.
Water your gardens, preferable with water that is not near the freezing point. These plants will need water to help recover, and wet ground holds heat better than dry ground.
Do NOT fertilize. I know you want to give the plant a boost of something to get new growth, but that is the last thing we want to do. Tender new growth will take an even harder hit if we get more cold weather.
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LIQUID COPPER
HOSE-END READY
1. Use now to prevent secondary infection on dead material.
2. Use again later after cutting the damaged fronds.
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Damaged Palms
The growth point of a palm tree is up in the crown
, so if you lose that, your palm is dead. If your palm has suffered severe damage and it looks like the crown may have died but the tree is still there, then it may be possible to save the palm. It could be that the fronds have died but the growth point is still alive and will resprout in spring.
You need to keep that growth point alive
until then.
Don't cut off the dead fronds as they are protecting that growth point from more damage.
Also, you should pour or spray liquid copper into the crown. This will not save any dead palms, nor will it revive any dead fronds, but it will stop diseases from colonizing that dead material up there. By doing so, you prevent a secondary infection from killing of a palm that the freeze didn't kill.
