With our up-and-down weather of late, some of your landscape plants may look dead but may not be. Many cold hardy plants go dormant or die down to the ground in winter and then return the following spring. According to the Dallas County Master Gardener Association (DCMGA), a cold hardy plant is a plant that’s native to our region. Non-native plants are also cold hardy if they’re rated for the USDA Hardiness Zone in which they’re planted (the Dallas area falls into Zone 8a).
Note that even cold hardy plants can be damaged if an area has a cold snap followed closely by a string of warm, sunny days.
If you’re not sure about the prospects of your plant, the DCMGA recommends that you don’t prune it, but continue to treat it as you would for a regular winter and wait and see if it comes back in the spring.
More information: Are Your Plants Cold Hardy? – Dallas County Master Gardeners Association
