Record Cold Front Winter 2026
February 2026 set two record lows for the South Florida region – with two separate weekends of temperatures dropping into the low 30s and high 20s. For our home gardens, this meant either bringing plants indoors or covering our outdoor plants. However, many of our plants may not have had that option and now are showing signs of cold damage. As we work our way to the warmer Spring months, homeowners are faced with a difficult choice – what to do with cold impacted material?
Hopefully, you left all the dead material on the plants up until now. Dead plant material acts as a protective barrier for any living tissue below the damaged areas. If you have already removed some of the dead, damaged, or unsightly material, you may have triggered new growth before the plants were ready to start this process. It is recommended to wait until two or three weeks after the last frost/cold event to begin any pruning. This ensures that the weather will be consistently warmer and there is no more risk of a late-winter frost. Yes, even in South Florida.
Recommended Pruning Practices
Now that we’re entering the appropriate time to stimulate new growth, what exactly should you be removing from your plants? Depending on what type of plant – trees, shrubs, smaller flowering plants – you are pruning, the practices will differ. For all plants, the best suggestion is to wait to see where the healthy, greener, growing tissue is on the plant. The easiest way to check is to start at the tip of unsightly branches and scratch with your thumbnail. If the tissue beneath is brown or black, keep moving down towards the trunk of the plant until you find green. Using hand pruners, cut just above the living tissue. An example can be seen here: Pruning cuts – Pruning – Landscape plants – Edward F. Gilman – UF/IFAS
Another way to check for living tissues is to bend branches. If they bend with you, the branch’s tissue is still alive and should remain on the plant. If the branches bend and snap, the branch is dead and should be removed.
In some cases, your plant may be growing multiple small new shoots. These are known as water sprouts, and they are an attempt by the weakened tree to increase photosynthesis. Do not remove all of these sprouts or you risk killing the plant since it is unable to photosynthesize and produce food. Remove no more than one-third of all water sprouts and aim to find one main sprout that can grow to become the new leader for that branch. In other cases, you may find that there is only living tissue a few inches above the roots. This will require renewal pruning – using a saw to cut everything above the living tissue. This will stimulate the plant to grow water sprouts – which should be allowed to grow for at least a year before any further pruning.
Patience is Key
As you being your pruning journey this spring, be patient as the process may take two to three years to overcome the damage done this winter. Never remove more than one-third of any plant’s foliage when pruning, to ensure ample amounts of photosynthesis. Since there are fewer leaves, your plants may be growing slower, and you should be cautious not to over-water or over-fertilize as your plants recover. In terms of all plant topics – patience is key. If you have any further questions or need assistance with specific species, please reach out to UF/IFAS Extension Palm Beach County at 561-233-1750. For more information, please see the links below.
Pruning – Landscape plants – Edward F. Gilman – UF/IFAS
Removing sprouts – Pruning – Landscape plants – Edward F. Gilman – UF/IFAS
Dammann’s Garden Company – When and How to Prune Your Frost-Damaged Plants
Care for Cold Damaged Plants – Wayne County Center
Freeze Damage and Pruning | Glynn and McIntosh Agriculture and Natural Resources
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