Ilex - a large holly collection, unaffected for the most part. macrophylla varieties froze to ground - as they often do here - they returned vigorously. That clone is being multiplied for further evaluation and for sharing with cooperators. However, we can now report that we do have one genotype, a robust gardenia with double flowers, that survived both freezes in fine form and flowered well in 20. Gardenia - wide collection of varieties froze to ground or near ground and recovered. Many straight Asian species died to near ground. For many camellia species, it was common to have the top alive with unthrifty new growth and with considerable sprouting from base and lower trunk and branches. ‘Yuletide’ branches and tops died back on some, lesion on others. ‘Frank Hauser’, a favorite here, was killed outright in a number of locations. Most survived, though many badly damaged.
TEXAS WINTER LANDSCAPE PLANTS PLUS
longissima froze to ground in 2021, recovered and froze to ground again in December 2022.Ĭamellia - 300 plus cultivars ranked with a wide range of damage ratings.
dichotoma showed damaged trunks and branches C. thunbergii varieties, minor damage plants recovered.Ĭallicarpa - beautyberry varieties and genotypes of C. chinensis, no damage.īerberis - barberries, mostly B. Below are the results of our observations of various taxa commonly used in urban Texas landscapes.Ībelia - 16 varieties, no damage A. A 1-6 damage-rating scale was employed (with 1 representing no damage and 6 representing dead), and other data was collected, including plant height, appearance and comments. Taxa is a taxonomic group of any rank, such as genus, species, variety or genotype. Because of the extensive diversity in the SFA Gardens, a project was implemented in the summer 2021 to document the extent of damage to woody ornamental taxa. Most gardeners across the state experienced these same three events in lesser or greater fashion. Gusty winds made it feel even colder, with wind chills ranging from 23° F to -10° F. The Southwest Airlines fan club took a hit. Elliott downed powerlines, littered highways with accidents and led to record plane-flight cancellations. The temperatures ranged from freezing along the U.S.-Mexico border in McAllen to as low as 8° F in parts of the Panhandle. The storm stretched 2,000 miles from the Great Lakes near Canada to the Rio Grande along the Mexico border. The entire state fell under a freeze alert. Third was the Dec 23, 2022, 9° F winter-storm Elliott event, which can best be described as a bomb-cyclone. While East Texas received some welcome August rains, my friends in Central Texas did not, and it is there that many counties experienced the all-time record. The average summer (June 1 through August 31) temperature was 88.8° F degrees compared to 89.5° F in 2011. While 2011 is considered the hottest, driest summer on record, 2022 was a year to remember. Records indicate it was the second-hottest summer in Texas since 1883. Second was the record-breaking heat in summer 2022, with 36 days over 100° F, a high temperature of 42° C and 10 weeks of drought. Many of these trees had to be removed, and debris removal from that event is still on our agenda. In Nacogdoches, ice-and-snow load meant limbs falling from above. Landscapes were devastated, and brown became the dominating landscape color. Every county in Texas saw temperatures below freezing. Winter storm Uri in East Texas was a weeklong event accompanied by ice-and-snow loads that devastated many Texas urban landscapes. For Nacogdoches, we can describe our challenges this way:įirst was the February 16, 2021, never-seen-before -4° F record low. In 2023, that record-breaking event can be seen as one of three mega-climate challenges we’ve endured in the last two years. I wrote an article for Texas Gardener (“Ice Ice Baby,” July/August 2021) that described our first impressions of winter storm Uri. Bananas as the backbone in your Dallas garden is probably a poor idea. Save the 20% for plants you might suspect are a bit edgy. I like the 80:20 rule, which is to plant 80% of the landscape, the backbone, to proven performers - those plants that will deal with it all. Plants in the urban landscape need to be resilient.
And, judging from recent events, we should accept that our urban landscapes need to tolerate low temperatures we’ve never seen before. In the Pineywoods, it’s apparent that we need more drought and heat tolerance as well as more salt and alkalinity tolerance in the plants we use. Everyone has seen the predictions of melting ice, rising seas and violent storms punctuated by long stretches of punishing heats and droughts never seen before.
A new term, “climate resiliency,” is making a mark to describe the character of urban trees and shrubs we should be planting in the landscapes of Texas.
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