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Is my cordyline tree dead ?

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harvey1964

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Feb 20, 2011, 1:16:54 PM2/20/11
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after severe frosts at christmas my cordyline has been shedding leaves
everyday for the last few weeks...its getting very bare looking now ?
will it come back again or is it a goner !!! its been growing for 15
years so far....


--
harvey1964

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Stephen Wolstenholme

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Feb 21, 2011, 4:57:10 AM2/21/11
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My Cordyline lost all it's leaves last winter. I was assured by
"experts" that it would recover. I'm still waiting.

Steve

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nm...@cam.ac.uk

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Feb 21, 2011, 4:29:16 AM2/21/11
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In article <hjd4m65ti2ck3ba8j...@4ax.com>,

Stephen Wolstenholme <st...@tropheus.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>On Sun, 20 Feb 2011 18:16:54 +0000, harvey1964
><harvey196...@gardenbanter.co.uk> wrote:
>
>>after severe frosts at christmas my cordyline has been shedding leaves
>>everyday for the last few weeks...its getting very bare looking now ?
>>will it come back again or is it a goner !!! its been growing for 15
>>years so far....
>
>My Cordyline lost all it's leaves last winter. I was assured by
>"experts" that it would recover. I'm still waiting.

What a lot of people miss is that New Zealand lies a LOT closer to
the equator than the UK does, and doesn't have our miserable winters
even its far south, though they have comparable winter temperatures
to the south of England. The north of New Zealand is a LOT warmer,
of course.

I don't know how good those are at recovering from frost, per se,
but what often sees such plants off in the UK is the rot that so
often follows frost damage. I have lost ALL of my thyme this year,
though it is very hardy against frost as such. Plants like bay,
that will regrow from deep roots, are very different.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Martin Brown

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Feb 21, 2011, 5:54:12 AM2/21/11
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On 20/02/2011 22:01, Chris Hogg wrote:
> On Sun, 20 Feb 2011 18:16:54 +0000, harvey1964
> <harvey196...@gardenbanter.co.uk> wrote:
>
>>
> There was an almost identical question here towards the end of
> January. It seems that cordylines took a hammering this winter,
> everywhere. The probability is that the top and most of the trunk is
> dead. Does the top of the trunk feel soft and mushy? If so, it is very
> likely dead. The good news is that the root may have survived, and if
> it has, it will usually send up a shoot or three in a few months time.
> Be patient, and if shoots appear, you can cut down the old trunk. If
> they don't, you can still cut down the old trunk!

It is certainly worth hanging on to and if the top has started rotting
cutting it back to good wood lower down. They tend to sucker from the
roots in midsummer if the top growth is destroyed by a cold winter.

The ones which really die stone dead in cold winters are tree ferns :(

Regards,
Martin Brown

stuart noble

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Feb 21, 2011, 6:56:18 AM2/21/11
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I wonder about the leptospermum tea tree from down under. No sign of
life on mine. Brown all over but at least no shedding of leaves yet.

Bob Hobden

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Feb 21, 2011, 8:47:34 AM2/21/11
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Nick wrote..

What a lot of people miss is that New Zealand lies a LOT closer to
the equator than the UK does, and doesn't have our miserable winters
even its far south, though they have comparable winter temperatures
to the south of England. The north of New Zealand is a LOT warmer,
of course.

I don't know how good those are at recovering from frost, per se,
but what often sees such plants off in the UK is the rot that so
often follows frost damage. I have lost ALL of my thyme this year,
though it is very hardy against frost as such. Plants like bay,
that will regrow from deep roots, are very different.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The roots try to get back to their homeland so it is rare that they don't
come back from the roots, one of mine did from 3ft down, cut off by
builders, and the top grew too planted elsewhere. Both have suffered this
winter for the first time.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden
W.of London. UK


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

nm...@cam.ac.uk

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Feb 21, 2011, 8:20:01 AM2/21/11
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In article <8sf8o1...@mid.individual.net>,

Bob Hobden <Bo...@invalid.com> wrote:
>
>>I don't know how good those are at recovering from frost, per se,
>>but what often sees such plants off in the UK is the rot that so
>>often follows frost damage. I have lost ALL of my thyme this year,
>>though it is very hardy against frost as such. Plants like bay,
>>that will regrow from deep roots, are very different.
>
>The roots try to get back to their homeland so it is rare that they don't
>come back from the roots, one of mine did from 3ft down, cut off by
>builders, and the top grew too planted elsewhere. Both have suffered this
>winter for the first time.

Very like bay, then. A plant like that will be killed only if it
is cut back to the ground for too many years on the trot. Some
can survive that happening every year, but some can't.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

echinosum

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Feb 21, 2011, 7:43:44 AM2/21/11
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If you are lucky, it will come back again from someway part up the
truck, so don't cut it (all) down yet. It will almost certainly come
back from the roots, around the base of the trunk, but you may not see
anything until quite late in the summer.

I thought my largest cordilyne had survived, but the growing centre fell
off the other day. It still has green leaves on, so I'm hoping that I'll
at least keep the trunk. But apparently the grow back very fast when
they are large plants.

My small red one didn't even get through last winter, and about 6 shoots
appeard around the base late last summer. I was wondering what would
happen this time. So far it looks like osme of them are still firm, so
maybe being below snow level they have made it through. But we shall
see.


--
echinosum

echinosum

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Feb 22, 2011, 8:22:35 AM2/22/11
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stuart noble;913438 Wrote:
> I wonder about the leptospermum tea tree from down under. No sign of
> life on mine. Brown all over but at least no shedding of leaves yet.
My experience, at least of L scoparium, is that they are rather like
ceanothus and leyland cypress in that they don't seem to reshoot from
areas of dead leaves. My leptospermum scoparium "red damask" proved
rather hardier than the -5 to -6 that was quoted for it, and passed
through several -7 winters undamaged (though these -7s were always only
brief), and even the (very brief) -9 we had in the 08/09 winter. But
the prolonged cold of 09/10 did for it, even though I never recorded
below -6 that winter. Another one with white flowers was killed rather
more easily.


--
echinosum

stuart noble

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Feb 22, 2011, 11:32:35 AM2/22/11
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Thanks. Looks like mine's a gonner too.
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