What Mid-Teen Temperatures Do To Plants

 

 

1. Evergreen shrubs (camellia, azalea, gardenia, pittosporum, Indian hawthorn)

• Leaf burn: foliage turns bronze, brown, or black.

• Bud kill: spring flower buds often die.

• Stem dieback: outer stems freeze and must be pruned back in spring.

• Root damage if the soil is dry going into the freeze.
 

2. Perennials (lantana, salvias, turk’s cap, society garlic, etc.)

• Top growth usually dies completely, even on hardy types.

• Crowns can be damaged if the freeze is prolonged or soil is dry.

• Some borderline perennials may not return.
 

3. Tropicals (elephant ears, cannas, bananas, some palms)

• Severe collapse of foliage.

• Stems may turn to mush.

• Some tropicals die outright at 15°F.
 

 

4. Young trees and fruit trees

• Bark splitting on thin barked species.

• Tip dieback.

• Flower buds for spring fruiting may be lost.
 

5. Container plants

• Roots freeze MUCH faster because they’re above ground.

• Even hardy plants can die in pots at 15°F.
 

How Sleet & Ice Increase Plant Damage

 

1. Colder roots for longer

• Ice on the soil surface traps cold and slows warming the next day.

• Even hardy plants experience deeper root zone chilling.
 

2. Ice conducts cold directly into stems and buds

• Ice sitting on leaves or stems pulls heat out of plant tissue.

• Buds that might survive a dry 15°F freeze often die when encased in ice.

• Tender stems freeze more deeply and may split.
 

3. Physical breakage

• Ice accumulation adds weight.

• Broadleaf evergreens (ligustrum, gardenia, camellia, magnolia) are especially vulnerable.

• Branches bend, crack, or snap.
 

4. Containers freeze MUCH faster

If sleet fills the top of a pot and freezes, the entire root ball can freeze solid.
 

5. Wind + ice = desiccation

Ice-coated leaves can’t breathe, and wind strips moisture from exposed tissue.