Look closely at your own pictures because those main stems are still bright green. That tells me the root system and the core of the plant are completely fine and it just sacrificed its foliage to survive the cold snap. Take your thumbnail and scratch the bark down low on the stem. If you see green right underneath you are in business. Leave it alone until you are absolutely sure the last frost of the season is gone. Once the weather warms up consistently you can prune off all that crispy dead wood down to the live green stems and it will push out a whole new flush of leaves.
Now we need to fix the actual problem here which is that planting bed. You have one lonely plant jammed right up against a stucco foundation trapped inside loose retaining wall blocks that are doing nothing but inviting weeds. That is textbook polka dot planting and it never gives you visual calm or structure. Pull those loose blocks out of there and expand the bed line at least three feet out from the wall in a smooth curve. You need to pull all that grass away from the crown of the plant and lay down a thick layer of hardwood mulch to protect the roots. Give this thing some breathing room and eventually add some companion plants to create a solid sweeping mass instead of a single target for the next freeze.
1 Comment
Look closely at your own pictures because those main stems are still bright green. That tells me the root system and the core of the plant are completely fine and it just sacrificed its foliage to survive the cold snap. Take your thumbnail and scratch the bark down low on the stem. If you see green right underneath you are in business. Leave it alone until you are absolutely sure the last frost of the season is gone. Once the weather warms up consistently you can prune off all that crispy dead wood down to the live green stems and it will push out a whole new flush of leaves.
Now we need to fix the actual problem here which is that planting bed. You have one lonely plant jammed right up against a stucco foundation trapped inside loose retaining wall blocks that are doing nothing but inviting weeds. That is textbook polka dot planting and it never gives you visual calm or structure. Pull those loose blocks out of there and expand the bed line at least three feet out from the wall in a smooth curve. You need to pull all that grass away from the crown of the plant and lay down a thick layer of hardwood mulch to protect the roots. Give this thing some breathing room and eventually add some companion plants to create a solid sweeping mass instead of a single target for the next freeze.