Plant Care After Freezing Temperatures

Caring for Plants After Extreme Cold

Extended periods of extreme cold can wreak havoc on your plants. While a lot of plants can handle temps below freezing, prolonged exposure to excessive cold and high winds have the potential to kill them. As your partner in the garden, we are here to help you come up with a solution to salvage existing plants and to help you pick out/care for new ones.

What to Look For

Pansies and violas will look wilted and lay flat with a freeze, but they typically bounce back with warmer temps. The pansies in this photo should recover with a little care.

Shriveled foliage with a dark green/gray color is a sign of cold damage and the plants will likely need to be replaced. The violas in this photo will likely not recover.

The excessive cold has likely damaged most of the cabbage and kale in the landscape as well. Cabbage and kale foliage that has turned a tan color should be pulled and disposed of.

Post-Freeze Shrub Care

Concerned about your shrubs? Horticulturist, Kara Ziegler is here to assist! A few things you can do for your shrubs at the moment:

Don't do any drastic trimming or pruning until the spring. They are still recovering from the freeze.
Clean up the area around the base of your shrubs.
Add a new layer of mulch to help insulate the roots.