Brrr! What a cold several days starting with Sunday, January 25! I
recorded the whiteness (mostly ground level) in the morning after the
previous night's sleet. Also recorded the next three days, skipped the
fifth day, then recorded the sixth day.
The sixth day was thawedful in front, but still icypatched in back.
This freeze was forecast/forewarned by weather people starting the
previous week. There had been dire warnings that 245 million people,
over half of US population, could be affected by the severe weather.
The stocking up of groceries by so many shoppers! It was like grocery
shopping at a holiday eve--all cash registers operating, and several
shoppers deep per register! We had gone the day before the actual eve,
anticipating that going the night before the freeze would be REALLY
unwise.
My first recording shows Sunday, January 25 at 7:32 AM. It was 17
degrees. I ventured out onto the front porch, then gingerly stepped onto
the back patio a few feet. Crunch, crunch. I ventured as far as the far
end of the patio bench.
The next three days of recording the back was through glass of the
storm door. I skipped recording on the fifth day. On the sixth day, the
front was totally thawed. The back was almost totally thawed, enough
that I wasn't chicken to step onto the concrete.
We're expecting another couple of days of freezing weather, but no
precipitation that could freeze and weigh down and break tree branches
as in 2023. No power outage this time around, as had occurred in 2021
and 2023.
"Feb 2021 Deep Freeze to Aftermath" article | video
On January 18, I spotted the agave with an emerging stalk.
(Speculating it started its growth maybe the previous week.) Its timing
seemed way earlier in a year; many others I've observed seemed to start
in early March. Furthermore, it was yellowy rather than green. After a
few more pictures, mostly weekly (last one on Feb 8), the February deep
freeze hit.
The deep freeze interrupted my attempts at Monday pic-taking for
nearly two weeks. By the time I took a pic on Feb 20, I saw that the
stalk had been cut part way, and half the leaves limp. Between that day
and March 21 (3 1/2 weeks, I was preoccupied with taking post-thaw
pictures elsewhere.) Anyway, visits on March 21 and more recent were
disappointing—bottom leaves amputated, the stalk cut even shorter, and
browning of the plant overall.
A few years ago, I'd seen agaves with leaves cut very short. Shortly
thereafter, the plants would gone. In one instance, I'd see it looking
weaker before it was removed. Because I never got to see recovery, I
thought maybe leaf removal was like amputating limbs and interrupting
nutrient flow. Also though that the exposed cross-sections might attract
disease or pests.
Trimming Agaves for Pineapple-look Effect
The final plant pix show severely trimmed leaves, but not quite as
"pineapple-y" as other cut-leaf pix I've seen online. I then thought to
Google for agave pineapple cuts or similar. Some resources on the look,
practice, and finger-waggings:
"The Pineapple Cut" shows images of agave leaf trims. One main effect is lessening the plant's diameter.
Never "pineapple" an agave (removing live leaves all the way
around the circumference of the plant leaving only a tuft at the top),
as this renders the plant susceptible to sunburn, insects, disease and
rot. If you must prune dead leaves, eliminate only the bottom layer.
Removing the pointed tips is also not recommended, mostly for aesthetic
reasons.
The origin of agave trimming came from the harvesting of
agaves for the production of tequila and mescal in throughout various
parts of Mexico. This practice is performed when the plants are ready to
be processed at the distillery a time when all the leaves must be
removed for transportation purposes. ... Not having the bottom leaves
weaken agaves and they becomes susceptible to diseases and snout weevil
attack. Other lower leaf functions include protecting the plant trunk
and the roots from the inclement sun.
Related: "So THAT'S Where Tequila Comes From"
describes a company's tequila-making process using blue agaves. One pic
shows leaves trimmed so the plants resemble pineapples.
General Agave Trimming Advice, 2021 Freeze, Freeze Advice
the sap of the agave can be caustic and cause skin and eye irritation; we would suggest wearing goggles when you cut.
first get rid of that long spine that's ready to get you in the knee or
eye. Then, decide if you want to cut farther down on that leaf or leave
it to callus over. When you have trimmed back all the leaves that are
damaged, you will probably want to keep the shape of the plant by
trimming equally all the way around. Work up from the soil level, row by
row, as needed. Remember, as formidable as they are, these plants are
succulents and can take quite a bit of abuse and still heal.
bacterial infection can enter the plant through wounds. Ordinarily, the
plant will take care of that itself by callusing over the cut when the
agave is trimmed.
"How to Help Succulents Survive Rain, Hail, Frost"
details prevention of frost damage ahead of time using cloths and
screen material. An informative section about agaves about their
cold-damage looks comes comes just before the 2-minute mark. The video
might actually be helpful in case the ice age sneaks back shortly, or
makes a return trip another season.
The time period between February 11 and February 23 was exciting for
the snow, ice, and cold, especially for power outages and boil-water
status. Eventual return to pandemic normalcy was welcome. "What Really Happened During the Texas Power Grid Outage?"
(Mar 23, 2021, runtime 16:47) is an informative video that described
the deep freeze. It has loads of info about power grid, events, images,
and animated graphs. The YouTube description also includes good content
and links. A nice touch at end of video requests that commenters be
respectful.
Environments outside were pictureworthy. I needed to take a few pix
through windows, unwilling to venture into such bone-chilling cold and
also risk ruining my camera. I created several composites and
organized into groups that show ice, snow, and aftermath. Images are
loosely organized as follows, but also include related items:
Snow, ice, damages to tree branches and other plants
Neighborhood walk February 12 (day after a big snow dump)
Neighborhood walk March 11 post-thaw
Additional related miscellany
I poked around the web for determining post-freeze damages for some
plants. Also stumbled on some plant info I hadn't known before, and some
that reinforced info from previous research.
Deep-freeze Damages
Two sources are from February 25, but seem to have content that describes the aftermath of the freeze.
The ones nearest and dearest to my heart for this article are sago,
tree cholla, and cinnamon cactus. Pic'd in the video, but unmentioned in
this section, are thread-leaf agave, photinia, and prickly pear.
"How to Prune a Sago Palm" didn't provide much in the way of images, but caught my eye with bulleted advice:
Sago palms are toxic, so wear gloves and be careful when touching
the plants. Also don’t let your animals near them or to eat them.
Prune from the bottom up, clearing the fronds at the trunk by 6″ to
2ft. These are the oldest and lowest leaves and it helps increase air
flow.
Only remove completely dead and damaged fronds. Cutting healthy
fronds can weaken the plant, but you can expose the trunk of the palm
for ornamental purposes by removing extra fronds.
Don’t trim sago palm fronds that are between 10 and 2 o’clock positions.
I asked for help in IDing an unusual deserty plant. "cholla" bubbled
to my consciousness. I stumbled upon "jumping cholla", which didn't
resemble the plant much. Shortly afterward, I received suggestions of
"tree cholla" (Cylindropuntia imbricata), at Wikipedia and World of Succulents.
Such a cute plant cluster, resembling miniature prickly pear
"paddles"! I did Google image search with that description in mind. When
I stumbled on a candidate plant, I spotted an image of a cinnamon
cactus. The page at "World of Succulents"
even parenthetically refers to it as "Cinnamon Bunny Ears". One image
in my video contrasts the iced-over plant with the post-freeze thaw. As
the homeowner scraped most other deserty plants, time will tell if it
survives.
Related: "2023 Ice 'N' Arborgeddon" article | video
My profession had been technical writer/editor. Through TheWriteJob clublet (blog at http://thewritejob.blogspot.com), I have been exploring my inner creative writing, which includes mostly language enlightenment, entertainment, and a-muse-meant. Over time, I have become more active with images and my YouTube channel.
