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Cordyline and Hebe frost damage.

GraysGrays Posts: 172
in Problem solving
Hi all,
During the recent cold weather one of my cordylines and my hebe were damaged, what advice would you give for each on helping them survive? or have we gone past that point now?
I removed all the cordyline leaves, they were just hanging on, the Hebe had a dramatic prune last autumn, I don't know if this has had an effect on its health as we have never had any problems with it before.
Many thanks.

Posts

  • bédébédé Posts: 3,095
    For the cordyline, keep cutting back until you find living wood.  I expect none.

    For the Hebe.  A majoe prune would have encouraged new growth late in the season that wuld have gone into the winter less hardy than usual.  Cut back as per the Cordyline.
     location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand.
    "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Many Hebes don't come back from pruning anyway, at any time of year, but especially after pruning in autumn,  so I wouldn't hold my breath with that one.
    If you're not in a milder, drier part of the country, they can fail anyway after pruning, but the autumn was mild in many areas, and there would have been a lot of soft new growth which will always be susceptible if you had a harder winter than usual. 
    Lots of people have lost Cordylines so again, it may not come back. 

    It's the cycle of warm, then cold/wet and freezing/thawing that causes the problem. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • GraysGrays Posts: 172
    Thanks for the advice.
    I will give them both a cut back and see what happens.
    At what point if I see no new growth would you just write them off and replace? March, April maybe?
  • didywdidyw Posts: 3,573
    To have any chance with the cordyline you will need to plant it in the ground - any new growth will come from the base and there just isn't the room in that pot.

    I don't know about the hebe - I bought a lovely trailing parahebe last year which I have in a pot - a lot of that has died back.  I plan on getting that in the ground as soon as the weather warms up a bit, cutting back the dead bits, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed on that.
    Gardening in East Suffolk on dry sandy soil.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I'd leave the Hebe until summer, and if there's new growth lower down, you could prune back to that. If it hasn't produced any new stuff by then, I think it's had it.
    Parahebes are different again, but they can be iffy in the wrong conditions. Lovely plants though. I used to have one in a previous garden, but it couldn't cope with our winters.
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
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