Dear Neil: We found this damage to the trunk of our cedar elm tree after the great freeze. Can you tell us what happened?

That’s very striking to say the least. It really doesn’t even look like a cedar elm trunk. If anything, it looks more like a lacebark elm. If anything out of the ordinary happened to it, it would probably have been borers just beneath the bark. They might have tunneled around for a long period of time, not just since the freeze. But again, this really looks more like the normal exfoliating bark patterns of a lacebark elm. I can’t see enough of the tree to tell for sure.

Dear Neil: Is there any chance that waxleaf ligustrums that have lost all of their leaves due to the cold will come back from their bare stems?

Sadly, it does not appear so. Even if they would, they would be so weak that you wouldn’t be satisfied with their recovery. They were hurt across big parts of Texas this time around.

Dear Neil: How do I control scale insect on my holly?

You can keep it in check with use of Imidacloprid systemic insecticide, both as a spray and as a soil drench. You would also want to apply a dormant oil spray in late January. The oil breaks down the protective waxy outer covering of the insects, and exposes them to freezing weather. Note that scale insects usually do not fall off the host plants when they die. Crush them to see if they’re still living. If they still retain fluid, you will need to keep treating.

Dear Neil: Several years ago I replaced a dying redtip photinia hedge with loropetalum (Chinese fringeflower). Sadly, this year, the cold got them, too. What would you suggest as a good replacement screening plant?

I would suggest Willowleaf (8 ft.), Oakland (10 ft.) or Nellie R. Stevens (14-16 ft.) hollies. They came through the cold unscathed. However, because of that, people are rushing to plant them. You may have a difficult time finding good-sized plants in your favorite nurseries for a while.

Have a question you’d like Neil to consider? Email him at mailbag@sperrygardens.com. Neil regrets that he cannot reply to questions individually.