After a difficult November (when a deer family set camp in my yard and started destroying everything with wood on it), I managed to cage whatever was left on my shrubs and see what happens recovery-wise. I haven't had time to winterize anything yet, because I was so busy deer-proofing things.

Consequently, my palms are still exposed. I've had a low of 15 degrees so far, with one good snowstorm and solid frozen ground for days now. I *think* they will be okay, and as soon as the ground thaws I'll cover them up for the season. Here are some pics of the snow. Normally a lot of these things should be covered already. oh well.

General view. There are some ice plants there that should have a bucket over them but if they die, I can replace them easily.



Trachycarpus 'nainital' and Nandina domestica. The deer have so far avoided the Nandina (one of the few shrubs spared), The palm has been in the ground for 3 years now and will get covered as soon as the ground thaws.



Rosemary 'Arp' In the ground for 3 years, with some dieback and broken branches due to snow. It's low to the ground due to such 'pruning', but I'm not worried about this one.



Mahonia belaei is another shrub to have escaped deer so far, and it's putting out flower buds! I haven't caged this one and I wonder if I should.



Magnolia grandiflora in front lawn. I had another evergreen magnolia in the back yard that was destroyed by deer, so before it was too late I caged this one. It is my prized little tree, and so far it is doing great.



My largest needle palm has been in-ground for 3 years, but I'm still going to protect it as soon as I can. It will survive unprotected, but since it's in the front lawn I want it to look neat next spring. It does look pretty with snow though.



Owch. This Opuntia ellisiana did fine, but the O. lindhemeri right next to it broke under the weight of the snow and came crashing down. It was a good 4 feet tall. It grows fast though, and it was actually getting a bit to big for its spot. Not the best way to prune a cactus, but oh well.



The Sabal minor 'McCurtain' will need to be protected. Last year they defoliated with a low of -5F. yikes.



Fierce. They are as painful as they look.