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What is this and how do I fix it?

jsetharringtonIGunD0fnjsetharringtonIGunD0fn Posts: 1
in Problem solving
Hi Collective. This plant seems to have suffered during our winter.  What is it?  Will it recover?  How do I fix it?

Thanks
Scott
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Posts

  • bédébédé Posts: 3,095
    edited April 2023
    Torquay palm.  Dead, very dead.  Start again, less exposed position, or try something more hardy.
     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."
  • Lizzie27Lizzie27 Posts: 12,494
    @jsetharringtonIGunD0fn, Unfortunately I think that was a phormium which now looks very dead. 

    However, I'm told they sometimes regenerate from the base so I would wait another month if you want to try to keep it.
    North East Somerset - Clay soil over limestone
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    It's a Cordyline @jsetharringtonIGunD0fn . Unfortunately, this has happened all over the country after the conditions during winter - the freeze/thaw cycle has done the damage.
    You can only wait and see if it recovers. They often re sprout from the base, but it'll depend on your location and conditions.
    They're often grown in coastal locations as they tend to get less severe weather - ie very little frost, and even if it is frosty, it's not of any great severity,  no worse than minus four or five for example. They also get sandier, freer draining soil there, which is also a huge benefit for them. Wet cold isn't ideal for them, but as long as conditions aren't too bad, they can usually manage :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • philippasmith2philippasmith2 Posts: 3,742
    As said, it would appear to be a Cordyline and you will need to remove all the obviously dead growth and then look at the crown.  If the crown and trunk is mushy, you can gradually cut down until you see signs of life in the trunk, if any.
    You don't mention how long you have had the plant ?  Your container appears to be a reasonable size and sheltered to a certain extent by the raised blocks but needs well drained too. Much depends on your location and aspect but this winter has certainly been a bad one for these plants all over the UK. Rain/freeze/rain ad infinitum. However, it really is a case of Wait and See at present until the temp warms up a bit.  If the root ball is viable, it's possible that the plant will regenerate and start to produce new shoots from the base. 
  • Lizzie27Lizzie27 Posts: 12,494
    My apologies, @Fairygirl and @philippasmith2 are correct, that is a cordyline not a phormium. Think I just had a senior moment there!
    North East Somerset - Clay soil over limestone
  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    it is an ex bog brush plant, or cordyline as some call them ;)
    Devon.
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    Looks like Cousin It
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    I was thinking Neil from The Young Ones but Cousin It is a better match.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    No need to apologise @Lizzie27 - there's been so many of these in dire straits this year, and Phormiums as well, and they can look a bit similar in that state apart from the trunk.
    Mine [phormiums] looked pretty much like that and are all knackered! 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • philippasmith2philippasmith2 Posts: 3,742
    @Lizzie27 - just ONE Senior Moment ??  Lucky you  :D
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