What an exciting winter we are having!  Finally, the Arizona desert is seeing our normal cold weather and our plants are beginning to show it.  As you travel through the different areas of the valley you will see the damage this recent cold snap has caused.  While we cannot always protect the vegetation in the communities, we can develop a plan for the re-beautification of it.

The damage from this freeze can be seen as browning or black, mushy leaves on most plants and trees.  This can be easily seen on the outer portion of the Ficus, Sissoo, and Jacaranda trees.  As these dark leaves harden they will provide insulation which plant needs to fend off any upcoming sub-freezing weather.  We urge homeowners and train our team to resist the temptation to remove this outer layer.  If removed, there is a greater chance of mortality of the plant thereby potentially increasing replacement costs of the community.

For the lower growing plants such as: Lantana, Bougainvillea, Natal Plum, even the Ruellia (all three common species), they should recover just fine.  Plants might appear little unsightly but in the spring, we will be working to reduce these species to the inner portion of the plant. With the extensive nature of the recent damage, we predict there will be some drastic rejuvenation necessary for the plants to recover fully.  Our team is continually trained throughout the year to manage this plant transition correctly.

With current temperatures in the morning hovering around 30 degrees (in the low 20’s in the outskirts of the Valley), our turf sections have quite a bit of frost on them.  As cold air settles, coldest being just after the sun raises the blades of grass freeze.  Once they freeze, any amount of force, such as: foot traffic, machine traffic, or vehicle traffic, will shatter the blade and cause damage to the turf.  Again this will appear as darkened, mushy spots in the turf.  Frost is not uncommon in our landscapes so our Turf Professionals used a fertilizer high in Potassium, prior to the freeze, to help the blades stand taller in the event of a frost, or to help them recover faster if they are damaged.

Our team is dedicated to providing Management strategies and practical solutions for your most prized landscape assets.  Having the time-honored experience our team can confidently return your landscape to the beauty it was before the freeze of 2013!