Freeze damage remains a hot topic
The lawn
This week I take a look at more parts of your yard that may have suffered freeze damage in the recent winter storm and offer advice.
Bermuda grass, St. Augustine and zoysia reacted to the cold weather by going into or continuing dormancy. Recognize the dormancy of an established lawn by its brown color and compact sod.
The best treatment of such a lawn is to let it develop on its own. It should recover enough by spring to again be mowed once a week. Fertilize it around May 1 with slow-release lawn fertilizer, 19-5-09. If you prefer organic lawn fertilizer, apply it now so the product has time to decompose before summer.
Still lush and green are the sustainable winter lawns made up of rescue grass, annual blue grass, henbit and other weeds. In addition to the attractive color, the benefits of this kind of seasonal ground cover are that you can mow it and it doesn’t need to be watered.
Your lawn is likely covered in leaves now, both from normal live oak leaf drop and leaves dropped from freeze damage. The leaves can by recycled as mulch or raw material for the compost pile. It even works to mow the leaves and then let them decompose on the lawn.
Shrubs
Most years we are faced with frozen stems on our favorite subtropical blooming plants, such as poinciana, firebush, thyrallis, esperanza and duranta. This year the list is longer and includes more cold-hardy plants, such as oleander, rosemary, blue plumba
go, viburnum, lantana, roses, shrimp plant, roses and Turks cap.
The expectation is that Turks cap, roses, lantana and shrimp plant will mostly recover from the freeze damage. It is less certain how plumbago, oleander, viburnum and rosemary will fare.
Of interest is the sago palm. The bad news is that every sago I have examined appears to have dead foliage. What we hope for is that the central growing point will survive and serve as the growing point for the existing sagos.
The good news is that several area gardeners have reported some green in the interior of their plants. Continue to be patient with sago palms, preserving the central growing point until it is clear whether it is alive or dead.
Nectar-producing flowers
Nectar-providing plants that went through the freeze are going to be slow to return, at best. Many, including porter weed, most of the milkweeds and many of the mistflowers, will not recover. Blue-curl and larkspur, if naturalized as wildflowers, should respond quickly as nectar sources. Supplement their nectar with any blooming or near-blooming milkweed and mistflowers you can obtain from area nurseries.
The major source of butterfly support after the devastation will be zinnias. Rely on transplants
available from your retail nursery for quick nectar sources.
Along with zinnias in the cutflower garden, vincas, pentas and begonias will provide replacement color.
Cat’s claw
One silver lining from the freeze is that it might have killed cat’s claw. Cat’s claw is a weed that grows along the ground, over buildings, over trees and on fences. At this point, it seems most cat’s claw was killed down the roots. I’ll keep you updated about the fate of this nuisance.
Estonia discovery+
In 1994, the MS Estonia ferry sank as it was crossing the Baltic Sea. In this special, new footage and interviews explore the details of this tragic incident and reveal what may have caused it.
Portals to Hell discovery+
In this special two-hour episode that kicks off the new season, Jack Osbourne and Katrina Weidman gain unprecedented access to investigate the former Mccormick property in Stratton, Colo., once home to father-son serial killers Tom and Michael Mccormick. The current owners have experienced paranormal activity all over the property. Then Jack and Katrina travel to Flagstaff, Ariz., to investigate the Hotel Monte Vista, a popular tourist attraction considered one of America’s most terrifying places, with guests spooked by unsettling poltergeist-like activity.
The Pioneer Woman: Home Sweet Home
Food Network, 9 a.m.
Eight is enough for host Ree Drummond, who devotes this episode to treats requiring only an octet of ingredients, including clementine-flavored sprinkle cake and speedy dumpling soup.
Anatomy of a Murder TCM, 4 p.m.
This 1959 classic from director Otto Preminger received seven Oscar nominations, including best picture. Best actor Oscar nominee James Stewart gives one of his finest performances as a small-town Michigan lawyer who takes on a difficult case: that of a young Army lieutenant (Ben Gazzara) accused of murdering a tavern owner who he believes raped his wife (Lee Remick). The gripping drama was groundbreaking for its discussion of sex, but more than anything, it is a striking depiction of the power of words. “Anatomy of a Murder” stars a young George C. Scott in a best supporting actor-nominated performance as a fiery prosecuting
attorney and legendary reallife attorney Joseph N. Welch as the judge. The jazz score by Duke Ellington also helped make this a landmark film.
Double Cross With Blake Griffin
trutv, 4:30 p.m.
Two episodes of the limited series air back to back following the NCAA games, where NBA star Blake Griffin conspires with people who are tired of being the victim of pranks to help them get revenge on their unsuspecting prankster.
V.C. Andrews’ Ruby Lifetime, 7 p.m.
Based on the bestselling V.C. Andrews Landry book series, “Ruby” kicks off the first of four films following Ruby Landry (Raechelle Banno), who was born in the Louisiana bayou and watched over by her Grandmère Catherine (Naomi Judd). Ruby is
filled with hope as love blooms with her high school sweetheart, but thoughts of her mysterious father and her mother’s death creep into Ruby’s life.
Chasing Waterfalls
Hallmark Channel, 8 p.m. Aspiring photographer Amy Atwater (Cindy Busby) gets the break of her career when a highprofile magazine puts her on an assignment to shoot one of North America’s most fabled waterfalls — if she can prove it exists. As Amy hikes to remote areas to photograph the waterfalls, she finds herself falling for her rugged guide, Mark North (Christopher Russell), and bonding with his young daughter Kyra (Cassidy Nugent). Their blossoming romance is threatened when Amy’s work brings her close to revealing one of the area’s, and Mark’s, most treasured secrets.
Relic Showtime, 8 p.m.
The scares are more emotional than gory for three generations of women in this well-done 2020 chiller. The last 20 minutes — eek!
Final Space
Adult Swim, 9:30 p.m. Season three of the animated comedy/drama brings twists and turns as Gary (voice of Olan Rogers) and the crew enter final space to rescue Quinn (Tika Sumpter).