Question
We live in the Phoenix outlying areas where an unusual cold snap came through this winter. It got down to 17 degrees where we live.  We had  planted 50 gallon Shamel Ash and Evergreen Elm trees in the spring before the summer/winter 2006.  ONly one Evergreen Elm has come out with leaves.  I have seen some green growth on the trunks of the other trees.  Do I give them more time? If there is green growth on the trunks, but not on the branches, what do I do?  THese were large trees that will look really funny if I prune back all the dead branches to the trunk? Do I just sit and wait and see?  We will be out 2000 dollars if they are all dead! Is there any hope?

Answer
I would wait and see what develops. The trees may have the tops killed back but the root system is still alive and will resprout. If this happens you will need to prune the dead wood out and let the sprouts grow for a while then prune the dead wood. The tree may look more like a bush than a tree.  Late this summer pick the sprout that looks like the tallest and the straightest and mark it for pruning after the leaves fall. Prune the other sprouts off. OR you can select a couple of sprouts but this will result in a forked trucked tree later. If you prune to one stem this will give you the tree shape again. There may always be a crook in this new trunk but it will be less noticeable as it grows.
With a good roots system established I would try to use these trees instead of replacing them unless they are dead.