Here we go again. If you’ve been a gardener in south central Texas through any of our past few winters, you know that plant damage after a freeze is a serious concern. Even a single night of freezing temperatures can cause extensive damage to your plants, leading to their demise if proper care isn’t taken (and sometimes even when proper care IS taken).
Fortunately, there are steps you can take to help your plants survive and even thrive in the aftermath of a hard freeze. In this blog post, we’ll discuss the most effective strategies for taking care of plants after a freeze in south central Texas.


After a hard freeze, if you find broken branches dangling helplessly on your plants, it’s ok to remove them. Use sharp, sterilized pruners to make a cleaner cut to your plant than the ragged break. Be sure to be selective and avoid removing more than necessary. If you notice some of the tips of the leaves have frozen, but the rest of the plant looks intact, you can leave them be and wait until winter has passed before doing any more trimming. That foliage, even if damaged, offers your plant a level of protection against the next freeze.
When winter is over and the plants are on their way to recovery, it’ll be time to give them a boost with fertilizer. This will help them gain the strength and nutrients they need to thrive in the upcoming warmer months. As you fertilize, be sure to water your plants consistently, not too little and not too much. Over or underwatering can further stress already weakened plants and can cause more damage than good. Water wisely and judiciously so that your plants can get the perfect balance of moisture and nutrition they need to thrive!

Extra Tips for Freeze Preparedness
- A day two before a freeze is predicted, check your soil’s moisture levels. If the soil is dry, water your plants deeply and slowly.
- Mulch around the base of your plants to keep them warm and insulate them from future freezes.
- Consider adding cold-hardy varieties and/or native specimens to your landscape. Cold hardy plants are specifically bred to survive temperatures below freezing and can provide a more resilient garden for the future. Native plants are tough cookies and are used to erratic San Antonio, Texas climate.
- Be prepared for a freeze by covering your plants if needed and moving any containers indoors when possible. Having an emergency plan in place can help prevent future losses due to extreme temperatures. When in doubt, cover it up!
- Breathe and know that Rainbow Gardens is here for you and spring will come again soon.
The (Still) Happy Gardener, Lisa Mulroy
Should we wait to trim roses after valentines?
Hi Rhonda,
Yes, that is a great time of year to begin pruning your roses. Start any time after Feb 14th and complete the task by mid-March. Here is a link to one of our rose seminar recaps that has a few more rose tips you may be interested in. Thank you for your comment.
thanks for all info. no apology needed.
youre my go to place.
Happy new year and have a dynamite year.
Hi Ines,
Thank you so much for your comment. You made my day! I sure hope your year is dynamite as well.
I had very recently transplanted a few of your annuals and perennials in 4 large flower pots in our community when the freeze was predicted earlier this week. So we got busy (in the dark) covering all 4 pots with garden fabric, securing them at the base of some tall rock rose plants that still have some of their leaves intact.
I took a peek at noon today and was overjoyed to see petunia and other plants smiling back at me and saying “thanks for protecting us.” We’ll wait until around noon Saturday to pull the covers off until the next threat. Your healthy plants deserve no less.
Bonnie,
Oh yay! I am always so happy to hear about plant survivors after the freeze! I’m also glad to hear that you were well prepared and able to protect them. remember when it is sunny and warm, the plants prefer that than being covered up under the dark….however, once the weather threatens cold, they would need to go right back under. It’s a pain to go back and forth, but those plant babies are precious! Thank you for reading and for commenting.
I have fabulous tomato plants that are heavy with green fruit. I have pc pipe arched in a raised bed that I will cover with frost cloth. Must I harvest the green fruit prior to the freeze or will the frost cloth protect it? Also, do I need to cover greens, onions and radishes?
Tomatoes will not handle the low temps. Harvest them and set them in a cardboard box to ripen inside. And yes, cover the rest of your crops. While they can withstand periods of 20 degrees, it is going to get lower and not sure of the duration they will be exposed to lower than normal temps.