[barb]

Hi
I am a new gardener and have just moved to kilkenny, the garden has a number of cordylines and a very large phormium tenax, however after the snow and cold spell all are severely damaged.
Should I dig them out or just cut off all damaged foliage or are they likely to recover ? The Phomium is actually now completely flat on the grass!
In anticiation...many thanks

[sal]

dont know the answer to your prblem but hello and welcome ,i`m sure some one here will know what the answer is,very knowledgable bunch here backing up complete novices like me

[Sarah Evans]

The words of Gerry Daly of The Irish Garden magazine

[barb]

many thanks will wait and see what happens then !

[artalis]

Hi barb,
Had to savagely cut down a phormium last year due to a burst pipe ( council put a water mains there but neglected to attach a stopper or tell me the mains was in my garden ) underneath it. It took three of us, digging, bungy jumping on it, cutting it back, roots and all to a sad stumpy thing. I almost cried. It took a now snapped stainless stell spade and Noah's flood to get it to budge.

Then three of us dragged it away, exhausted.........I left it with about 1 inch of root. It had formerly been 7ft high approx. I wrapped a blanket around it's base and left it for about 3 months to dry out, completely unattended above ground. When I checked it later it had a little bit of healthy root still on it. How could I refuse......I decided to try replanting it just to see if it could be saved.

A year later, it has been completely renewed, is covered in healthy young foliage and is about three feet high and wide. I think the old leaves which had dried out provided some sustenance for the new leaves that emerged from them later.

Other plants in my garden like the arum lily got flattened into a soggy heap by the severe frosts. But sprouted anew in spring after a slow start by about 2 months. The arum lily is a healthy plant once more.

If your phormium's roots are in deep soil, and if the base of the plant had a decent mulch or a skirt of dried leaves around it perhaps the roots of the plant are still healthy and if so the phormium may regrow in time. If the leaves weren't mushy perhaps you should leave them in place until signs of new growth.

I realize that the frosts have been and gone a few months ago now, so I wonder do either your cordylines or phormium have any signs yet of recovery?

There is no guarantee that the phormium will recover, but they are very resilient plants, so if you can wait perhaps it will be worth it.

artalis

[barb]

Many thanks
the phormium has started showing minor signs of recovery but the cordyline is as dead as a dodo...but will leave it for another few months just incase a miracle occurs.
Glad to hear your plants recovered so well.
best wishes
barbi

[artalis]

Hi Barbi,

If the crown of your cordyline is firm and not soft, then it is still alive, even if there are no new leaf shoots. If the crown and trunk appear to be decaying and falling apart, it is most likely dead.

All the same I have seen cordylines that were chopped straight across to within 3 ft of the ground, and new leafy heads appeared about a year later.

Glad your phormium is turning a corner......hopefully that will continue.


artalis