Snow Damaged Large Plants - Advice needed

[phantom309]

The one I had the tree trunk had gone to a very gluey mess and fell over but it did grow back after cutting it back below near to ground level so all is not lost

[AJ sheffield]

We have tied the remaining leaves tight upright until the weather smartens up, it looks silly but could just save its life.

[smithy266]

we have lost our bay tree, plus a couple of other shrubs

[Badlittlepup]

I see... the ones near the bottom have gone brown and shrivelled up but the ones at the top do still look healthy so that's a relief to hear.

 

Yes, that's how they grow. The leaves at the bottom of the spray of leaves die and are replaced by new ones at the top.

 

Give it a few good waters with baby bio or some other plant food as they can do with it at this time.

[sskirrrow]

Cordylines and Yuccas are usually ok, once established down to temperatures of -5 due to their really thick cambium(bark). Its only the leaves and the crown that need protecting usually.. These kinds of plants including Phormiums hold lots of water in the crown, this then freezes, expands, splits, thaws then rots the crown. However this year has been an extreme exception. As i mentioned before, these plants bark is quite thick but no match for temperatures of -10 and below. These temperature easily penetrate and due to the natural high water content of these plants, they just freeze and expand and tear the plants vascular system, resulting in death. I have seen them recently with huge splits all the way up the trunk. We have not had these kind of temperatures for lots of years which is why some cordylines are over 20 years old.

If anyone has any large dead ones that need professional removal, please feel free to contact me. They really are quite tough and its really hard work doing with a hand saw.

[not wanted]

Mine is just about dead so I have lopped the head off and hopefully it will grow back.

[Aries22]

My two Cordylines have lost all there leaves and are very mushy, darn't tell you what they really look like lol.

[Diddles]

Our cordyline too has suffered really badly this winter, and as we walk our dogs we have noticed that many round where we live have suffered too. I looked on the internet and one website said to cut the top 6 or 7 inches off the trunk and seal the top with wax to protect it. If the rot has not gone too far down the trunk, then it should start resprouting come the warmer weather. We are going to give this a try and see if it works.

[craigmason]

my cordyline has lost all its leaves so i am going to grow a clematis up the trunk

[Rhinegold]

We've had a lot of people coming into the centre asking the same questions, we have also just put this advice out in our newsletter.

"It’s worth leaving it for a while yet until at least the end of May and try cutting back the trunk to around 60-90cm, there may be dormant buds beneath the stem that could break out, though it is more likely that any growth would come from basal nodes beneath among the roots so look for new growth around the base of the trunk.

If it is dead and you want a different palm to replace it, try Trachycarpus fortunii that will go down to around minus 15C or Chamaerops humilis a more bushy palm."

 

Hope this helps.