Shrubs after freeze

I planted 3 gallon pots of loropetalum and pittosporum in my bed 10 months ago. The freeze didn’t affect the pittosporum and only have the outside leaves of my loropetalum fall off.

I’m in northwest La and my shrubs look like toast. Got down to 5 at my house one night and 15 several nights following. Just wait and see.

You can scratch a stem or branch and if there is green under the bark, that's a good sign. Patience is a virtue in this case as it may be several months before shrubs start putting out new leaves.... Or not. But the scratch test is a good indicator. Also, if leaves are falling off, that's a good sign. It's also possible everything above ground was killed but the roots survived. So again, patience grasshoppa. The question is do you want to look at crappy, leafless stuff for several months?

Chainsaw comes out this weekend. Cutting mine back to about 2 feet tall and let them come back.

Message from LSU AgCenter Horticulturist Heather Kirk-Ballard:

“As the temperatures warm up, it will take several days — maybe weeks — to fully understand the damage this cold weather event has caused. So hold off on the pruning for now. When plants begin their new spring growth, you will be better able to see what damage occurred in the freezes, and pruning will be much more efficient.

“Don’t go pulling anything out of the ground yet, either. Many of our cool-season annuals will probably be OK. They are much more cold hardy than other annuals. Violas, pansies, dianthus, foxglove and clematis are alive and will likely bloom again in the spring.

“Roots of most hardy plants will be OK, too. With all of the rain that followed the cold snap, our soil is wet, providing protection against freezing temperatures. Even though many of the plants are frozen up top, they are still alive beneath the soil. Rest assured that these plants will return from their roots.

“Tender tropical plants melted like the Wicked Witch of the West from Oz. Still, do not be too hasty to get out there and prune. If you are fortunate enough that your tropical plants survived, it’s best to leave the mushy foliage to help protect the crown of the plant.”