By Kathy Henderson
Gardening Columnist

When an Arctic Freeze comes south in the usually mild month of December, there’s going to be trouble in the landscape and gardens. This is especially true when the temperatures drop into the single digits and remain in the teens for several days. Our plants were no more prepared for this blast of chill than were we. Some still had new growth on their twigs and flowers flourishing on their stems.

Covering them with plastic, sheets and even blankets may have made us feel better; as though we were in control, but did little to keep them from damage. The thing that has always amazed me about these periods, and I have been through many of them, is that you can have three of the same kind of plant side by side and two will be damaged severely and one will have very little damage.

Every plant in your landscape has cold tolerance according to its genetic background, its growth stage, whether its roots are protected and its general condition (dehydration, poor root development, lack of general good health). In other words, gardeners, the plants that you chose for their known cold tolerance, those that you planted properly in good soil, those that you mulched, the ones that you fertilized and pruned at the proper time had a better chance of surviving the ravages of days of freezing temperatures. I, like many of you, love those borderline plants that really benefit from being planted in the deeper south. So, this is the result of planting those.

However, I was in Natchez, Mississippi when the temperature dropped in the mid-teens and the damage was significant to the Camellias and Azaleas which thrive in that region. It was a sad sight to see. Now that I have commiserated with you because my beautiful landscape is bleak also, let me encourage you about the future.

DO NOTHING right now. The plants will tell you in the Spring what to do. Some will be dead, others will die to the ground, others will begin to put out new growth on the stems at some point. Then you start to prune away the dead material. Some will sprout new growth from the soil, so you cut away that part of the plant that is dead above. It’s not easy to wait but believe me when I tell you, it’s worth it. Now, if you have plants that had large leaves (like Elephant Ears and Bananas), you might want to remove these soggy leaves from the top of your plant to keep them from keeping the ground too wet. Plants are survivors and I think you’ll be surprised at their resilience.

When spring comes and new growth emerges, we’ll have plenty of work to do. If you want to enjoy gardening in a positive way, it is a great time to go online and order some of the summer bulbs and flowers. I have to get some areas of my landscape into better condition before I plant but I can order now and they will be delivered at the appropriate planting time. Do a little research on these bulbs and plants for ideal ones for your specific environment. Some of my suggestions are Gladiolus, Crocosmias, Dahlias, Callas, Oriental and Hybrid lilies as well as Daylilies and Irises of all types. Most perennials and annuals, I purchase locally in March and April, but I order my bulbs from catalogs. This is the time of year for planning and also planting those daffodils and tulips that you did not get into the ground before Christmas.

Enjoy the things that you see in the winter garden; the bulbs emerging from the soil, the buds on the deciduous plants that will produce flowers soon, the bark on trees that provides such wonderful texture and the stem structure of many plants that gets lost in the summer garden.