Assessing & Treating Cold Damage
Assessing Cold Damage
Scratch Test
Lightly scratch the bark of your trees/shrubs and look for fresh, lighter-colored wood. If you scratch the branch and the color is the same underneath, then it is likely dead from the damage. This picture is an example of a healthy plant.
Leaf Drop
If your trees/shrubs were damaged by the freeze, they probably dropped a lot of leaves or have a lot of brown spots. This is completely normal. Since spring has sprung, you are probably noticing some new growth!
Know When It's Time
Sometimes plants cannot handle everything that the elements throw at them. If you have a tree/shrub that is looking like the picture above, it is not revivable. If you purchased your plants at Pike, we offer a lifetime guarantee on all trees and shrubs!
Time to Prune
Cut away any broken or dead branches so they have a clean cut to heal properly. You can also pull off any damaged leaves.
Fertilize
Once a plant starts putting out new foliage, start a fertilizing program with an all-purpose fertilizer to improve root health.
