Pruning

17 years ago

I, like many others who live near Brandon, have a fair amount of freeze damage. My question is whether to prune certain plants or not. Anf if they should be pruned, how to do it.

Let me describe some of the plants I have and my questions.

Angels Trumpet - These plants are quite large, in the 6' to 9' range in height. All of the leaves are dead. How much should be pruned?

Varigated ginger - These plants average 4' to 5' in height. Most of the leaves on the entire plant have been burned. Can the plants just be cut down to the ground? They seem like they are fast growers.

Heliconia - These are all toast. I think they can all be cut down to the ground...correct?

Purple fountain grass - It is also toast and I am think of cutting that back to the ground as well.

Tibochina - I really like this tree. It is over 6' tall and all of the leaves are dead. I am thinkung of just leaving this alone. Do Tibs come back after such a hard freeze?

Thyrallis - Looks burned but it came back last year after a hard freeze without any help, so I am thinking of just leaving it alone.

Hibiscus - I have both the tree (8') and shrub (3') variety. All the leaves are dead. I am thinking of just leaving these alone.

Bromeliads - I have the full sun variety(Achemea)and it looks like it has been bleached. Will it come back?

Thanks for any advice and comments.

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Comments (4)

fawnridge (Ricky)
17 years ago
Angels Trumpet - These plants are quite large, in the 6' to 9' range in height. All of the leaves are dead. How much should be pruned? Half the length of the branch maximum.

Varigated ginger - These plants average 4' to 5' in height. Most of the leaves on the entire plant have been burned. Can the plants just be cut down to the ground? They seem like they are fast growers. Yes.

Heliconia - These are all toast. I think they can all be cut down to the ground...correct? Don't cut lower than the first node

Purple fountain grass - It is also toast and I am think of cutting that back to the ground as well. Yes. I had this in several places in the garden when we still had sunny spots. I cut it back to the ground twice a year.

Tibochina - I really like this tree. It is over 6' tall and all of the leaves are dead. I am thinkung of just leaving this alone. Do Tibs come back after such a hard freeze? Scratch off some of the outer bark until you see green. If you do, the tree is alive. Tibochina, all species, tend to drop leaves when the temperature gets below 50.

Thyrallis - Looks burned but it came back last year after a hard freeze without any help, so I am thinking of just leaving it alone. Trim off 1/3 of the outer growth.

Hibiscus - I have both the tree (8') and shrub (3') variety. All the leaves are dead. I am thinking of just leaving these alone. Trim off 1/3 of the outer growth.

Bromeliads - I have the full sun variety(Achemea)and it looks like it has been bleached. Will it come back? Only time will tell if you get new pups. If it's A. blanchettiana you should see new growth in the mid-spring.
fawnridge (Ricky)
17 years ago
Sorry, I read the wrong plant for the Heliconia. Yes, you can cut them to the ground.
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mboston_gw
17 years ago
I am not an expert but I did go to our Hollis Gardens here in Lakeland the other day. The people there are very knowledgeable about plants as they grow many of the beautiful plants and flowers you see around our town. The Head Gardener said they would do nothing until March and then they would start cutting back. Tibouchinas he said they would cut way back - to about 18". He said it would grow back to over 5ft tall in one season. We talked about other plants but none of the ones you mentioned.
countrynest
17 years ago
Very good advice,Ricky.
Mboston, I agree to wait 'till March for our
zone,9. Actually for my area I like to wait 'till
late March to start.
Felix