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Pentas show considerable top damage from the freezes. If you want to keep pentas alive for a spring recovery, protect the plants in containers in a greenhouse with a heat source

The cyclamen foliage has been unaffected by this year’s freezes, and even the blooms have escaped damage when they were covered by a layer of N-sulate fabric.

Zinnias are a hot-weather flower and were hit hard by this recent freeze.

Pentas show considerable top damage from the freezes. If you want to keep pentas alive for a spring recovery, protect the plants in containers in a greenhouse with a heat source

The cyclamen foliage has been unaffected by this year’s freezes, and even the blooms have escaped damage when they were covered by a layer of N-sulate fabric.

I didn’t expect much freeze damage with the New Year’s freezes, but the impact on some plants surprised me.

For many years I have used cyclamen to provide welcoming color in the shade beds along the front walls of the house. The cyclamen foliage has been unaffected by the cold, and even the blooms have escaped damage when they were covered by a layer of N-sulate fabric.

Unfortunately, some San Antonio beds were not covered, and the blooms were frozen off. It appears that both the surface and interior flower buds were frozen, if that is the case, the bed is finished blooming for the year. The extent of the damage will be one of the subjects that Jerry Parsons and I will pursue on the Gardening South Texas Radio Show this weekend to see if we can fine tune just how much cold these beautiful, expensive winter blooming plants can tolerate.

If you did not move porter weed into a heated structure or cover those in the ground, they are probably at least top-killed, but may survive if moved into a more protected site now.

Porter weed is an unusual tropical plant that has become popular with San Antonio-area gardeners who are interested in attracting pollinators to the landscape. The small, brightly colored blooms are presented on long weeping stems in many colors. Red and purple are the showiest.

In addition to the unusual presentation of the flowers, Porter weed seems to offer an exceptionally potent nectar. It is the only flowering plant I have ever seen where hummingbirds, butterflies and bees compete for nectar at the same time.

  If some of your fruit trees or shrubs have a white, flaky growth on the stems and trunk, it is probably an infestation of scale insects. Scale insects suck juices from the plant. Control scale with an application of dormant oil. The dormant oil is an organic control that suffocates the scale.

  Larkspur is an aggressive, blooming plant that naturalizes in flower beds. Some larkspur blooms are desirable for providing nectar for pollinators. But if not managed, the larkspur will overgrow snapdragons and other desirable plants. Allow some larkspur to develop in the garden, but remove a portion to allow other plants to survive.

  It is still effective for Cut Vine and Stump Killer to be applied to hackberries, Chinaberries and other invasive seedlings growing in your shrub borders and planting beds. Even if the leaves have all dropped, the herbicide is effective.

  You can still plant broccoli, cabbage, carrots, lettuce, beets, Swiss chard, kale, onions, English peas and other cool-weather plants in the garden for winter production. Visit plantanswers.com for specific guidance on each plant.

It is known as a cold-sensitive plant and its response to the New Year’s freezes are consistent with that expectation. If you did not move the plants into a heated structure or cover those in the ground, they are probably at least top-killed, but may survive if moved into a more protected site now.

Penta is one of the showy, shade-tolerant blooming plants that was reliably available during this past growing season. It is not quite as cold sensitive as Porter weed, but close, and it shows considerable top damage from the freezes.

If you want to keep pentas alive for a spring recovery, protect the plants in containers in a greenhouse with a heat source, but penta will be available in nurseries again next year.

Whopper begonia supplies were limited, but if you were lucky enough to obtain some, they performed on the all-star team of your blooming plants. Depending on where your whoppers are growing now, some were probably damaged by the New Year’s freezes.

Rearrange your whoppers so you can prevent further freeze damage this winter. Place some in a heated greenhouse or porch, and the rest in sheltered locations where they can be pruned back and covered in future freezes. Protected begonias will recover quickly in the spring to provide color in the shade for another year.

Zinnias are among the most popular nectar sources for butterflies, but the most popular large selections were hard to find last year. Many of us relied on smaller varieties in the absence of our favorites.

Zinnias are a hot-weather flower and were hit hard by this recent freeze. Just in case there is a shortage of zinnias again this year, collect the seeds from the largest, most attractive blooms that are in your garden now. You can plant them in March.

As a replacement for the zinnias, expect the snapdragons, stocks, alyssum, pansies, petunias and other cool-weather annuals to fill in the now-available space. After a pause in response to the recent freezes, they will launch their spring bloom period.

Calvin Finch is a retired Texas A&M horticulturist. calvinrfinch@gmail.com