Freeze damage from November

Like many homeowners I hate to get rid of plants, shrubs or trees unless they are really dead.  I play the “wait and see” game whenever possible, but the game is over.

The deep freeze in November wreaked havoc on many types of vegetation.  The cooling of the weather in fall signals the plants to start their preparation for winter: drop leaves, stop growing and save energy.  According to Swingle, on November 10th 2014, the high was 64 degrees, and then rapidly dropped to a record low of minus 13 on November 12th – a 77 degree drop in temperature.

There are a few types of shrubs that were hardest hit by the freeze, including euonymus, privet, cotoneaster, juniper, spirea, boxwood, weigela and hibiscus. 

Depending on the severity, you may be able to prune off the dead and save the plant, albeit much smaller.  You may just have to start over as some of these types of shrubs do not respond very well to pruning.

By now, if it is not showing signs of life, it is a safe bet it will not come back.