Unsure if your plants will recover from the Lowcountry freeze? Many are hardier than you think

Last week’s repeated hard freezes -- after the last couple of mild winters -- came as quite a shock to many landscaping plants, as well as their owners, who saw their plants wilt and turn brown, or bend, sometimes to breaking, under the weight of the ice that formed on them from the freezing rain.

The good news is that most area plants should recover, according to experts at The Greenery, Inc. on Hilton Head Island.

Subtropical plants are ones that were especially likely to suffer damage last week, said Carol Guedalia, horticulturalist at The Greenery. Such plants include shell ginger, split leaf philodendron, oleanders, bottle brush and Farfugium, a large leafed plant also known as tractor seat, she said.

She added that, overall, plants that were well-hydrated before the freeze should suffer less damage than those that were dry before the cold came.

Tim Drake, landscape designer at The Greenery, said that in addition to the effects of sub-freezing temperatures, the weight of the ice snapped a lot of plants. “My yard looks like Beirut,” said.

The good news: “nine times out of ten, they will regenerate naturally.”

“I think the island’s plants will do just fine,” said The Greenery’s David Lowe as he looked at some small sago palms that suffered leaf burn from the freeze. He thinks that plant owners living on the mainland, where temperatures were colder, may find their plants suffered more extensive damage.

The exception: tropical plants like crotons and Hawaiian ti plants. “I think a lot of ... tropical perennials will be out and out dead,” he said.

He said that the jury is still out as to whether citrus plants will suffer from the freeze. His best guess is that well-established citrus plants will likely survive, while young or recently planted citrus plants could die.

Many plants may only have been burned by the frost, he said, which causes effected areas to turn brown. The damage, though unsightly, is mostly superficial and would not need to be removed other than for aesthetic reasons, he said

This story was originally published January 10, 2018 at 3:39 PM with the headline "Unsure if your plants will recover from the Lowcountry freeze? Many are hardier than you think."