This is probably one of the hardest virtues for someone to achieve, especially when it comes to dealing with plants and hard freezes. Almost everyone in Acadiana has had some type of freeze injury to plants in their landscapes. Many of you have already pulled up some of the brown plants that were injured but maybe you should have had a little more patience and given the plants a chance to recover on their own. If your budget allows you to move along faster than Mother Nature, that is okay but for many patience is your key.

I was at a home yesterday, the client's fire bush was brown, and he had pulled back all the mulch away and wanted me to take a closer look. At first, I thought the plant was dead but as I got down on my knees and looked closer, I saw evidence of small reddish leaves coming up at the base of one of the branches. You need to remember that the roots of plants benefited from the warm soil temperature and received little to no damage from the cold. That being said, all the stored food in the root system will be going into those buds that survived the cold and the plant will take off and begin to fill in the space it once occupied last year.

The citrus in your yard follow the same trend. Have patience and wait to see if any small buds begin to appear on the trunk and branches of your trees, then prune the dead wood above the new growth.

Some palm trees may not send up a new spear leaf until August or September so remember to practice Patience!

Effects of Cold Weather On Citrus


You may be wondering what you should do to your citrus trees after the recent cold weather we experienced. In a typical year, trees receive gradual colder weather that when coupled with shorter day length, promote hardiness within the plant. The recent warm temperatures and colder than expected weather has caused some damage to your trees. Fruit and leaves have begun to fall off your trees prematurely as the result of the freezing temperatures they received. Some fruit became damaged beyond use but others with thicker skin like grapefruit appear to be fine.

I have been getting calls regarding the pruning of limbs and branches that are showing some signs of damage and I am advising homeowners to have patience and wait until spring to prune. Warmer temperatures will promote new spring growth, Mother Nature will tell how much damage she caused, and you will be able to determine how far back you may need to prune back the branches on your trees. In addition, pruning often promotes new growth and I am sure that winter is not over and new growth is more susceptible to damage from freezing temperatures than older growth. Your trees may look bad and you cannot stand to look at them, but again, be patient.

If you want to be productive, rake the fallen leaves and fruit from under your trees if you are able to do so.

Lemon and lime trees are less hardy than kumquat and satsuma trees. All other citrus fall somewhere in between the two hardiness levels.

Once spring has arrived and you address the damage, use a citrus/fruit tree fertilizer to help your plants bounce back from the winter.

Well, it’s been about 6 months that I’ve been assigned to the Lafayette Parish Extension Service as the new horticulturist replacing Gerald Roberts. I am enjoying the move tremendously and want to thank you for all of the support you have given me. Sharing knowledge and experiences are the best things I can offer to you and I hope to learn more about your organization and how I can better serve you in my position. Again, thank you, Master Gardeners, for your kindness and support.

Seven Lpmga Members Toured Four School Gardens In Vermilion Parish In December, 2016. The Interaction Between The Groups From The Different Schools Was Amazing! With That Being Done, I Asked The Master Gardeners If They Would Be Interested In Doing A Program For The School Garden Champions In Vermilion Parish And They Agreed. I Spoke With Ellen Arceneaux , Assistant Superintendent Of Curriculum & Instruction Of The Standing (L-R) Dan Devenport. Celeste Hay, Lpss, Betsy Palmer, Suzanne Lasseigne, Dean Koppfler, Mary Kramer. Seated: Theresa Guidry And Candy Bienvenu. Vermilion Parish School Board And We’Re Working On Such A Project And Possibly In August, Doing A Break-Out Session During The Teacher In-Service Training For Vermilion Parish School Teachers. I’M Looking At Inviting The Vermilion Group To The Cook-Off On January 21, 2017, For Them To See All We’Re Doing In Lafayette.