Cleanup after the big frost of December 2010

The low temperatures here in the Phoenix, Arizona area got down below freezing for several nights in a row in the last few nights of 2010. I've seen a lot of frost damage in the neighborhood, and although it's best to wait until the weather warms up again, I have done a small amount of cleaning up here in the Tropical Paradise. In 2007 it got cold enough here that some of my small Phoenix roebellinis died, and a lot of Ficus Benjamina trees in the neighborhood were killed. There was a nice Ficus Benjamina tree in the yard just east of my backyard that is gone. I doubt whether people will be planting them much more now. The most recent frost has damaged leaves, but hopefully the trees won't die.

In my backyard, I have cleaned up the ornamental sweet potato vine. There are bits and pieces of it left in the ground, and it will grow back. I have cut back the Caladiums (elephant ears) and the Cannas. They are tuberous, and will grow back. In fact, these plants look best if they are cut back dramatically on a regular basis. It just looks kind of bare now. The only two cycads that suffered damage are my Zamia furfuracea (on the right - see how the leaves have gone brownish/purplish) and my Dioon spinulosum (on the left - also see how purplish the leaves are). The plants themselves are fine and will grow a new flush of leaves in the spring, but the leaves showing now will need to be trimmed off. Also the Phoenix roebellinis have some purplish leaves that will die back. There is also frost damage on the natal plum. Again, it's important to wait until spring to trim.

Avoid the temptation to trim your plants, such as bougainvillea. Wait for the spring. If you trim now you risk killing the plant. Just try not to look at it. Not easy to do!