Plants Recovering from the Freeze

After two nights of the recent hard freeze, I have recovered my blankets and other bed linens from the small orange trees and sub tropical plants.  I have folded them ever so neatly but I have not put them away.  I am waiting for several other freezes.  We still have a couple of months of unpredictable weather, including freezes, before spring arrives.

The professional gardeners around the NE Florida strongly suggest to leave the freeze/frost damaged trees, shrubs, and plants alone.  Do nothing and give them a chance to recover.  If you want to check on the recovery or damage, scrape away a small portion of the bark with a sharp knife and if you find greenery, the plant is still alive.

The tall hibiscus with beautiful red flowers took a beating.  It looks terrible with wilted brown leaves and closed blooms that are ready to drop to the ground.  However, this is not the time to prune it.  The pruning may do more harm than good.

The Plumbago against the shed and along the scenic creek doesn't look too healthy but I am going to wait and see what develops.  I understand that the plumbago will come back from the roots.  If that is the case, I may have to trim the plant to clean it up and make it presentable.

It looks like the Mexican Petunia used to block the northern entrance to the Back Forty wilted and keeled over.  If that is the case, the State of Florida is smiling.  "They" consider the petunia to be invasive.

The schefflera or the umbrella plant under the cedar trees may have fared well but is sporting brown and wilted tops.  The blanket covering it blue off.  It is still a large and somewhat healthy looking plant and may have survived this freeze without damage.

A few beneficial things about the freeze:  It may have killed off some of the mosquitoes that delight feasting on us.  They may not be completely eradicated but the population hopefully have decreased.

Another benefit of the freeze may be that it killed off the air potatoes.  The vine is wilted and brown but I am sure the potato itself will live on, prosper and grow.  By the way, I read that there are some insects that feast on the air potatoes but unfortunately have not arrived in my neighborhood yet.

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