What can you do if your landscape flowers are freeze-damaged
or dead from the cold?
"Very little," said Paul Thomas, an Extension
Service horticulturist with the
University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental
Sciences.
Thomas offers these helpful hints:
- Remove dead tissues soon. They can lead to infections
when the weather warms. Tan, brown
or black tissue won’t recover. If it’s half green, don’t
bother it.
- Keep plants dry if you can. You can’t stop the rain, but
don’t water or wash the plant.
And don’t fertilize until spring. Give the wounds time to
heal.
- Watch for disease signs such as shrinking stems, black
areas or brown patches that grow
bigger on leaves or stems. If you see them, check with your
county agent for proper
fungicide recommendations.