The odd thing is some of the small plants I had placed on the ground while stunted will likely survive. So, for some time I’ll continue watering on the chance the trees may recover. I considered pruning them back but didn’t want to introduce any further trauma. So, I’ll wait and see what time will tell.

Oh, Tony, This is so sad. What is happening all over your area is terrible. I think you are right to forgo doing anything to the poor trees but to wait and see what eventually happens come warmer weather and new Spring growth.

Kate

So sorry to hear about this freeze event.

I experienced multiple 15F to 17F overnight temp dips years ago. Some of the damage was obvious immediately... other damage took a few years (dead areas on main trunk, stunted growth and later decline). Many leaves of most citrus was shed over the next months. The exception was the satsumas... just looked like a bad day. Although the frozen leaves look dry and like needing water, do not fall into the trap. Just keep the soil moist.

Recovery will take time. I was lucky that only a couple of kumquat trees died ...while a bearss lime lost 98 % of its leaves and bounced right back.

Good luck!

I would water based on actual soil moisture rather than tree appearance. Water needs are reduced during cool temperatures and defoliation. Over watering adds additional stress to a plant and can lead to root rot.

Certainly if the plants have dropped leaves, watering should be reduced to avoid overly saturated soil and root rot.

In treating trees severely injured by cold, three courses are open: (1) Leave them alone; (2) cut them back to he ground; (3) cut them back part way. Everything considered, leaving them alone is the best plan. For some time following frost injury it is impossible to determine how much should be undertaken. Nothing can save trees or parts that have been frozen. Much expense and labor may be prevented by waiting until the exact extent of the injury can be determined. This cannot be decided until growth starts.

Why were you watering them daily? As dave and herman said that is counterproductive.

As a rule I haven't been watering daily, only when needed. The trees had become stress previously and it was suggested then to water them frequently.

I am so sorry to hear what happened. It doesn't seem real. I also heard about those poor animals at the refuge place and farms.

Do you know if your potted trees soil froze solid? The top growth can get by with much damage but sad to say if the pots froze solid, the soil mass, they are not going to make it. The in ground potted ones have more of a chance since the ground may not have frozen the roots? Not sue if your ground froze too(

The Lisbon in my garage probably did not freeze through as it was shielded somewhat from the most brutal temps. The others in the greenhouse have a much sadder fate I'm afraid. I would like to say their root balls did not freeze, but as cold as it was it has to remain a real possibility. But that is also my hope for many plants I had in a large planter box, that they might sprout from roots and survive. The outdoor water hydrants attached to me house even froze.

One casualty is a schefflera that came from my mother's funeral 11 years ago. It long ago became too large to overwinter in the house so it spent the winters in the greenhouse. About the the animal refuge, that is in San Antonio and quite a large number of primates and tropical birds did die there. It was a tragic event The cod was intensely brutal.

We are in the wait and see phase here in SW Louisiana on the 8b / 9a line where our lows hit around 12F during the prolonged freeze which equaled a 120 year low. I covered a used heat lights, C7 christmas lights, etc. on all my in ground citrus, even with that it looks like we are facing near 100% leaf loss in the coming days on all 11 trees. Some like my Cara Cara look much worse than others, surprisingly the Meyers looks like it may keep about 1/3 of its leaves. With luck most will survive though I am sure there will be at least some die back.

From experience my advice is give them time to recover, even if they look dead. I had a mature Satsumu that lost its cover during the night a few years ago when we had a 14F low, I thought it was dead, then it started eventually leafing back out the following August, though with severe damage to the main structural limbs in places, eventually loosing over half its size..

@Ike Stewart I agree with letting them alone. And you're right they do indeed look dead. But when I give it the fingernail test of lightly scratching the bark the underlying layer is green. I'm taking that as a good sign. One question when and how should I prune any deadwood?

Thanks for the encouragement. Oh, and today and yesterday it's in the low 70's here. Go figure.

My thought again is later is better than sooner, wait and make sure it is really dead, in this case I would say wait until at least next fall to prune away dead wood.