{"id":134090,"date":"2026-01-27T22:28:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T22:28:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/134090\/"},"modified":"2026-01-27T22:28:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T22:28:08","slug":"dont-cut-back-your-freeze-damaged-plants-just-yet-take-an-experts-advice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/134090\/","title":{"rendered":"Don’t cut back your freeze-damaged plants just yet \u2014 take an expert’s advice"},"content":{"rendered":"

With our freezes now, many plants look damaged and ugly. The temptation is to cut them back right away. A plant expert says, “Don’t. Wait until Feb. 15.”<\/p>\n

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2014 We’re just beginning a week of freezing temperatures across Florida, and many homeowners are walking outside to plants that look damaged and downright ugly after the cold.<\/p>\n

For many people, the first instinct is to cut off the parts that look awful after the freeze.<\/p>\n

A Jacksonville landscape expert says that could be a mistake.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Landscape and plant expert Garron Hemrick with Liberty Landscaping in Jacksonville says she\u2019s hearing about freeze damage across many yards \u2014 even in homes where people tried to cover plants overnight. She says the appearance can be alarming, but in many cases, the plants are still alive.<\/p>\n


\n \"\"<\/p>\n

The problem comes when people cut back damaged plants too soon. Trimming them immediately after a freeze can cause the plant to react in a way that makes it more vulnerable if temperatures drop again.<\/p>\n

Hemrick explains why timing matters: \u201cBecause that tells the plant to start shooting out new growth, and you don\u2019t want new growth until there\u2019s no frost. So wait until at least February 15th.\u201d<\/p>\n

She recommends continuing to cover damaged plants during cold nights this week. Even plants that already show signs of freeze damage can often recover with protection and time. She says some plants closer to the outside walls of homes or in a corner outside may have a better chance of surviving the freezing temperatures.<\/p>\n


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Her advice for Floridians dealing with freeze-damaged plants right now: be patient, protect what you can, and wait until mid-February before cutting anything back. \u00a0And, she says, resist planting new garden items right now. \u00a0It’s too soon.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Most plants affected by this cold snap, she says, can still be saved, so focus on those right now.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With our freezes now, many plants look damaged and ugly. The temptation is to cut them back right…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":134091,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[116,118,117],"class_list":["post-134090","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville-headlines","tag-jacksonville-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134090","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=134090"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134090\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/134091"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=134090"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=134090"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=134090"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}