Oleander winter freeze in Tucson AZ

Question

Hi Jackie,
I enjoyed your article about the best ways and times to trim Oleander and will take it all to heart. We recently purchased our home in Tucson, AZ and have inherited many of these beautiful plants. Unfortunately, it snowed about 2 weeks ago, and now many of the plants or parts thereof have dead leaves. I know i am supposed to wait until Late Winter to prune again, but would it hurt to just trim the dead portion off right now since they are so unsightly? Thanks in advance for any feedback you can offer
Kevin Carroll

• 
• 

Answer 1

The concern with pruning now is that you will expose the underlying foliage to further frost damage. The frozen/dead leaves do provide some protection until the danger of frost is past, which in Green Valley area is mid-late March. If you choose to prune off the dead foliage now, the alternative is to watch the weather reports and frost warnings and cover the plants overnight as needed.

Here is a link to an article with some tips on protection. Notice the last paragraph about watering.

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/plant-problems/environmental/protect-plants-in-freeze.htm