ioxra plants spring trimming after heavy freeze

Question: I live in Rockport TX and we had a few days this winter of below freezing weather. A couple of days in the teens. I have about a dozen ixora plants around my yard and all the leaves are brown to reddish brown. Are they dead? How do I trim, do I trim... my husband is ready to cut all the way back to the roots...these have been in the ground for 7 yrs and were beautiful last summer...what am I to do?

Answer: I live in St. Petersburg Florida and had a several freezes last year that appeared to kill many plants including the Ixora plant. The limbs were brittle with zero pliability. I ended up cutting mine to 6 inches. They began to slowly regrow that year. This year they are doing fine.

On the flip side, I operate a landscape company and work with the ixora. Some clients did not want to trim them to the ground. So I took off six inches from the top and 1-3 inches from the sides. They too, began to grow back just slower than the ones I cut near to the ground. Both methods may be okay for you, its a decision both of you will have to make.

Good Luck.

Please keep me updated.