CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — After last week's winter storm, pretty much everyone in Texas has stepped outside to find frozen plants, palm trees and bushes. Are they dead?

South Texas Gardener Gabriel Vega said the damage has been widespread, but the good news is the ground was not frozen. Vega said most people rush to cut out the parts that look frozen, and that is not recommended.

"I left a plant out. Forgot where it was," Vega said. "Look at it. If your palm looks like my palm, you might think, 'Hey, this might be done.' But one of the things you can do to test is just take a little bark as you see here. That's green? It means it's living."

Vega said all plants that look damaged should be left untouched for several weeks before doing any pruning, and don't forget to water around the plants to keep their roots healthy.

More from 3News on KIIITV.com:

• COVID-19 vaccine in the Coastal Bend: Everything you need to know
  
• LIST: Where water boil notices have been lifted in the Coastal Bend
• H-E-B limiting purchases of certain products to help restore supply after winter storm
• 'Assembly Required': Corpus Christi native stars next to Tim Allen and Richard Karn in new History Channel show