The top question on everyone’s mind is, “What do I do about my plants?”  Winter Storm Uri has done damage to our lawns and landscapes, but it is too early to tell the full extent of the damage.  The most important thing to do now is give your plants time to recover.

Texas has not seen an extreme freeze like Winter Storm Uri since the 1980’s, and we experienced temperatures below freezing for several days.  That’s tough on plants!

I have been taking walks to check out plants in my neighborhood to see how things are looking so far.  Sidenote: if you see me creeping in your yard with camera in hand, please do not shoot.  I am only checking on your plants.  I put together a short list of observations and tips.

1. Wait to see what happens. We know some plants did not make it because they turned to mush.  We have a spineless prickly pear in the Master Gardener Demonstration Garden that is a prime example of this.  This cactus had no protection from the wind, and it is a mushy mess of brown.  Other cacti that were more protected and have better cold tolerance might survive.  Cut away the mush and see what happens.
2. Live oak trees look terrible right now. Live oaks always lose their leaves in the spring and grow new leaves.  The trees should lose the leaves that were injured by the cold and grow new leaves in March and April.  We recommend that you do not prune oaks from February 1 to June 30 to prevent the spread of oak wilt.  If you need to prune some branches that were damaged and are a potential danger to people or structure, go ahead and prune those.  Be sure to paint the wounds within 15 minutes of making the cut with any kind of paint.  Do not worry about going back to paint wounds that occurred during the storm.  Those have already dried up and will not attract the nitidulid beetle that spreads oak wilt.
3. Many of our shrubs and woody plants are going to survive! To check your plant, try the scratch test method.  Use your fingernail or a pocketknife to scratch the bark.  If you find moist, green plant tissue, the plant is still alive.  If you see brown, try the scratch test lower and lower on the limb or branch to see if you find live tissue.  I was very worried about the Natchez Crape Myrtle that I planted in January because those tend to have less cold hardiness.  I did the scratch test and found green!  Now I just wait for those new leaves.

AgriLife started the new slogan #learntoloveugly and I encourage you to embrace it for a few more weeks or months.  Let your plants try to make a comeback before you do too much.  I will be posting plant updates on our website at Williamson.agrilife.org so continue to check there for more information, or you can contact me at the AgriLife Extension Office at 512-943-3300.