Finally, leaves of Illicium varieties (Illicium floridanum ‘Pink Frost’, below) that drooped for protection through weeks of subfreezing temperatures have risen, perhaps less than a majority but enough that I am confident of their survival. While buds at branch tips appear undamaged, the fate of foliage that continues to hang limply is uncertain. I suspect that sections of the evergreen shrubs will need to be pruned as they show further signs of decline as late winter temperatures rise.

The various Illicium and Mahonia in the garden are rated as cold hardy to zero degrees (Fahrenheit) so I was concerned by forecasts a few weeks ago that called for temperatures falling to eight below. Fortunately, one below was our low, but with prolonged cold following an extended period of drought I knew there was an increased chance for cold damage.

Today, there are plenty of brown leaves on mahonias (above) and distylium. These will not suddenly turn back to green when it gets warmer, but I expect mahonias will drop the off color leaves when new growth starts. The distylium (below) is browner, but there is green on lower, more protected branches. It’s too early to tell, but the brown leaves could be covered over by new growth. At worst, I’ll have some pruning to do.

With milder temperatures, I’ve removed the frost covers from cold tender fatsias and schefflera. I doubled the cloth and possibly this gave a bit more than four degrees of protection. In any case, there’s been no damage.

The next step is to wait for new growth that is likely to begin in April. Once the growth is obvious, I’ll prune any dead branch tips. Despite what it looks like today, I don’t expect it’ll be much. I’m happy that the cold damage appears to be minimal, but happiest that temperatures are rising and spring’s around the corner.