Question: My waxleaf ligustrums have gray, sunken spots all over their leaves. They look like somebody walked on them with hot golf cleats this winter. What caused that? Is it a disease?

Answer: That’s winter damage, and you can expect to see it in North Texas (the plant’s northern extreme) following extreme winter weather. It’s not a disease, and the new growth will usually conceal it by April 1. Record winters in the past several decades have reduced waxleaf ligustrum, once our most popular shrub, to an also-ran in the northern half of the state. Again, hollies perform better with no risk of cold injury.