The February winter storm that slammed Texas left millions of residents without power or water. In the aftermath, as people began to return to normalcy, gardeners and plant enthusiasts realized that they weren’t the only living things negatively affected. 
Temperatures that plunged South Texas into the unfamiliar single digits claimed the lives of innumerable plants that were never meant to endure the cold. 
Tropical plants, like this cycad palm, have survived South Texas’ “freezes” many times before. However, with almost 200 hours of temperatures below 20 degrees Fahrenheit, the plants turned – and remain – brown. Botanists suggested that plant owners wait a few weeks for signs of regrowth, but no luck. 
“We have ‘Fern Gully’ and the banana garden in the backyard – plants everywhere,” remarks Edwin Miles, a South Texan homeowner and avid gardener. “Almost all of the tropical plants didn’t make it.” 
Similarly, plant nurseries in South Texas, which are not equipped with major climate control facilities due to their usually temperate location, suffered heavy losses of plants. This left stores like Home Depot on short supply, leaving only hardier flowers, like these daisies, available for purchase. 
A lot of nursery owners in Texas are calling it the ‘St. Valentine’s Massacre’,” says Seth Patterson, a blogger for San Antonio’s Milberger’s Landscaping and Nursery. “Sago Palms (pictured) might take months to regrow.” However, for Edwin Miles, not all hope is lost. 
“Most of our plants survived,” explains Miles. “They survived because I was lazy. I had not raked up the leaves from the fall. The leaves pileup and it insulates. The leaves are gonna die. But the root systems don’t.” 
True to form, the visible parts of Miles’ plants did die out, but within a few weeks, they were beginning to emerge again. 
“The ferns are coming back out. They look brown, but you can see the green popping back out.” Miles joyfully expands on that, adding, “the grass survived wonderfully. In fact, it got watered.” And there’s still more hope for his gardening. 
Our raised flower bed is setup and it is coming up! We got collard greens, beets, and okra already popping out.” Oddly enough, the most exciting plant for Miles? 
“The onions! They’re standing straight up now. All of them are popping up!” 
In a short amount of time, nature has shown its ferocity in the winter storm and its persistence in the newly sprouting plants. 
With climate change as a very real factor, nursery owners and gardeners alike will have to switch up their cultivation tactics. Miles is well aware of this. 
“I believe that climate change is real. I don’t think this is the last time we’ll see something like this. WE won’t have to wait 100 years or 1000 years to see it again. We probably won’t even have to wait 5 years.” 
“But,” he says, leaning back with a smile. “In the meantime, it’s nice seeing all these spring flowers pop up regardless of what we went through.” He chuckles. “Even if they’re technically weeds in my yard.”
South Texas Plants Get the Freeze
Related Articles
