What to replant that will survive the next snow storm:
If you’ve been looking at your yard for the last few weeks, you probably aren’t very happy how things turned out after the winter storm. We’re hoping you heeded our warning to not remove everything. It was best to wait and see if your plants would come back once the warmer weather was more consistent. However, now is definitely the time to cut back, so get out there remove all of those dead fronds, shoots, limbs, etc. from your shrubbery. Just remember, it may not be dead yet so you can still wait it out. If that cleanup sounds like too much work you can always give us a call/text at 210-816-0042 or reach out to us HERE.
If you just couldn’t wait and needed to get the ugly out of your yard, that’s ok!
We’ve put together a list of plants you should consider when replacing the ones that didn’t make it. We know everyone lost many plants we cherished and cared for, but surprisingly others survived the prolonged cold. As we’ve been out and about, we’re noticing many greenery that were barely affected by the freeze. We suggest you should give the items on this list a second thought before you begin replanting this spring in case we have a similar winter situation next year.
Our favorite Snow Storm Survivors
(full list down below)
Dwarf Yaupon Hollies
Many yaupons, we noticed, had very little to no freeze damage done to them. These should spring back from our winter season quite nicely. With their dense evergreen foliage and usual mounded form, they’ll make a great replacement to a space already filled with less refined greenery. Being low maintenance, now is the time to prune these.
Boxwoods
Almost every boxwood we’ve seen has kept their bright evergreen color. Most of the damage was done to the tips of the foliage, but that can be trimmed just in time for the growing season. We suggest using these as a foundation shrub or to line a walkway entrance. Their dense foliage allows them to be tightly clipped into both formal and whimsical shapes.
RedBud Trees
These trees didn’t seem to skip a beat! After months of looking like big twigs, we’ve seen nothing but blooms on all healthy redbuds these last few weeks. Unfortunately, that white and pink color will not last all spring so enjoy it while it’s here. Before long, they’ll resume their regular leaf until next season.
Burford Hollies
Weathering the storm with out any complications, we haven’t seen a burford holly with any major damage. It was refreshing to see these keep their glossy leaves and pointy structure. Take caution when cutting these back as the tips can really cut up your hands without gloves. We like using these to line small retaining walls.
Hackberry Trees
Hackberry trees have always been known as a tough tree and they definitely lived up to their name through the snow. Blooming like nothing even happened, it would be a great idea to use this as a replacement to any trees you lost. They hold well against strong winds and a big bonus is their drought tolerance.
Nandinas
These shrubs went practically unaffected by the snow. If you lost a few plants in a group, these are great fillers as they spread underground, forming small colonies, spreading out up to 5 feet once fully grown. They are also considered deer resistant, but we all know nothing stops deer from nibbling.
Mountain Laurels
The laurels we’ve seen all suffered a little bit of damage around the leaf areas, mostly those planted on the north sides of properties. Often overlooked, these shade tolerant natives are great for narrow lots. They are extremely slow growing, but in a good way, so you get to enjoy their beautiful purple fragrant flowers in the early spring!
Our Full List:
Dwarf Yaupon Hollies
Boxwoods
Redbud Trees
Burford Hollies
Hackberry
Nandinas
Mountain Laurels
Ashe Juniper
Redtips
Bald Cypress Trees
Red Yucca
Live oak
Italian Cypress
Leyland Cypress
Skyrocket Juniper
If you’ve seen any other plants that did well through the storm, please let us know in the comments!
If you read through this post and learned something new, we’d like you to consider subscribing to keep learning new ways and ideas to care for your lawn. This is our second post and we are hoping to keep them coming every few weeks to be as relevant to the needs of our San Antonio area yards. Thank you and we hope to see you back soon!
- J. Ponce