Paula,
Our nandinas were fine until those super-low temps during the last two rounds of frigid arctic air. They look bad, but not as bad as you've described. They have large areas of light-brown, dried out looking leaves, but some of the foliage looks normal for winter. However, our large yaupon holly looks just like you described your nandinas. It was beautiful a couple of months ago with green leaves and covered with red berries. The leaves have turned dark brown and the berries are black and shriveled. I've been wondering if it's going to make it. I watered everything well several days before each of the real cold snaps, so the plants didn't go into it dry.

Suzie

Paula, I have the same problem with my tall nandinas. The dwarf ones are ok. I am going to cut my damaged ones back and hope they make it. I believe it was the weather, as this is the first time this has ever happened and they were fine before the cold temps.

Suzie - I didn't water mine in so maybe that's a clue. These were so well established I didn't think it necessary..but that may be my downfall. We've been so dry, I should have thought of that..

Thanks, we might be on to something here...although it's probably that age-old situation....Oklahoma Weather. ugh...

If you had the snow we had here, the roots should have been protected. I expect that weather got the tops of lots of things. I'll bet your nandina shoots up from the roots if you'll give it time.

Paula,
Dorothy's comment about her tall nandinas being damaged but the dwarf ones being okay made me realize that ours are also dwarf, or at least they are small. None are more than 2 or 3 feet tall. I have a feeling yours may come out of it if they are cut way back.

Suzie

I was encouraged by Dorothy's comments, too! I tried to post, but either the Garden Gnomes or my computer didn't see fit to let it happen last nite.

Thanks Suzie! Mine aren't dwarfs, they are/were over 4' tall. Further investigation today gave me some more hope...there's still green down around the first foot or so on three...but one may be a gonner. I think I'm just going to cut them way back and hope for the best, right? I'll do it soon and then give them some fertilizer and a heavy dose of mulch. Maybe that will help. If anyone's got any other suggestions, please...! I'm all ears!

As always, thanks so much!!!!

Paula

I think those of you in the northern half of Oklahoma will see more plant damage from the cold temps in early February than you've ever seen before. A lot of you had temperatures that were a zone or two colder than what you normally see. (Down here in our area, the lowest lows were only in the single digits so I don't think we'll see much damage.) Also, remember how long you stayed below freezing. We were under freezing here for at least 5 days and that will damage plants a lot more than just a few hours below the "usual" cold temps.

With most plants that have winterkill, if you just prune off the damaged portions, the plants will resprout assuming their roots didn't freeze. Don't fertilize very much or it will push early, tender growth that may be damaged by a March or April cold spell. Also, if you push too much above-ground foliar growth before the roots are ready for it, you can have more topgrowth than damaged roots can support. Just feed them lightlyy or wait for the plant to make reasonable growth on its own before you feed it. You cannot recover the lost years of growth in a week or a month, and patience is required.

Sometimes, even shrubs that seemed to survive very cold weather will leaf out in spring and then die because so much of the root system was lost that the plant cannot re-energize and grow. I've seen that happen here with zone 8 plants that I was trying to grow in zone 7b. I got away with it for a few years but lost them in a colder-than-usual winter.

Many freeze-damaged plants will recover on their own but they'll do it at their pace and not necessarily as quickly as we humans would like. As I said before, much patience is required. We humans often want to rush in, intervene, and "save" our plants when they often will save themselves if we just prune off the damage and leave them alone and let them do their thing.
Dawn

Our well-established nandinas took a hit, too. They've been in the ground 10 years, and have never shown any browning over the winter, but they look dead (although I don't think you can actually kill a nandina...) I suspect they'll rebound.
Carolj

I live in the OKC area. I have several "plum passion" nandinas and also heavenly bamboo. Both varieties have suddenly dropped all their leaves. They are just sticks poking out of the ground. I'm going to get very aggressive with my pruning, and cut them back at least half way. Best case, they come back better than ever. Worst case, I have to replace them. It's a gamble I'm willing to take !!

Carolisa - Haven't noticed you before so just thought I'd say Welcome! if you're new here.

I second that line of thinking. Mine are the Heavenly Bamboo and I've decided the same. My only grudge is these are 5 year old plants. Hate to wait on them to grow back again, but OH WELL!

Paula

p.s. Notice your e-mail addy has "cpa". Do we have another bean counter joining us? lol!

Well, I did it. Pruned my Plum Passion Nandinas WAY back after quizzing the guy at my local nursery. Now it's all over but the waiting.

Me too. Yesterday the Heavenly Bamboo got a severe trim. However, I am encouraged because I did find green in the trimmings. Hope the next couple of months show some signs of recovery. We only cut about a third off of the worse one.

I don't think you can really kill them. I have a Gertrude Jekyll rose and a nandina next to each other that I wanted to kill out. Last year, or maybe even the year before, I cut both of them down, but decided to take the easy way out and use chemicals to kill each of the plants.....both of them are growing gangbusters and the rose is blooming. It's only 6 inches, but it's blooming!

Lisa

The one I pruned is putting out beautifully too, as I hoped it would. The crape myrtle that I was afraid was topdead has also put out as has a few branches of the Carolina Jessamine. So far I don't think I've totally lost anything. Of course, the snow protected the roots.

I live in the Texas panhandle. I have two that are not leading out and one that looks great. I broke off a few twigs and they were some what green inside. We were cold and they instantly 90 degrees. Should I just keep watering or any suggestions?

I'd probably cut them back a bit and see if that spurs regrowth. When we went through all the nandina problems in 2011, we had had some bitter cold that lasted almost a week, and then when the cold ended, we shot up instantly into the 70s---and it was a huge change, especially for so early in the year (February). The fact that the twigs have green inside tells you that there is hope the plants will come back.

I’m in Tulsa and I have at least 12 nandinas that are exactly as you described. I think the record breaking low temps we had may have killed them. Some of the stems feel like they might still be green so I’m going to cut them way back this week and hope for the best. Mine have been here 20 years. Fingers crossed.

Do you prune back stalks and brown leaves or just the brown leaves?

I've got four nandinas that look terrible. I may trim them back some, but had decided to give them a full year before I do anything drastic. At the park where I take the pug to walk, there ae some nandinas that look almost the same as mine, except they have some green leaves at the bottom. So I'm hoping mine will come back.

Was good to read OkieDawn's knowledge. She's missed.

Here's my nandinas

The nandinas at the park, they have some green at the bottom that mine don't have. And my pug got into the pic

This is exactly what my nandinas look like. I'm going to cut them way back and hope for the best.

If any of you follow Neil Sperry (out of McKinney, TX)(gardening guru extraordinaire), he has told the DFW area to cut them back to about 3"...they have had the same horrific cold and damage that we have up here, so I'm thinking that will apply for us, too. He has said that they'll bounce back and grow from the root. Sounds like that's what's happened in years past.

Did I read that right, he said 3" ? That's not much left of the plant.

That's what he wrote...thinking that's low to allow sprouting from below.

I have a couple with green leaves on the bottom, bout the first 6" . When I prune em, I'll start there.

This says , basically ........ to have some patience

From OSU

Effects of deep freeze on landscape plants

And a YT vid

Awesome video. Thanks so much. I’d been searching everywhere for this exact info.

The nandinas at the park are coming back in a great way. Mine in front of the house are coming back but not as fast