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Fatsia spiders web and japonica and gunnera manicata

Good morning everyone, Just a quick question about frost hardiness for the above plants. I've always thought fatsias are fairly frost tolerant, but do they have a maximum temperature they can go to in a frosty spell, they are fairly secluded but would suffer a little bit of wind. 

Also gunnera manicata I thought can survive down to -12 if the crown is protected? Other people tell me it's much less than that?

They are a first year and second year but have dropped in the frost. Anything I can do to help ?

Thanks 🙏🏻

Posts

  • GardenerSuzeGardenerSuze Posts: 5,692
    edited 19 January
    @james-HYumfQs Gunnera always reacts this way to frost. I can recall visiting Chatsworth in late autumn the first frost had flattened it. Always recovered from the base in spring.It is a plant that is now described as invasive.
    I have also regarded Fatsia as tender here but further south from me it seems fine.
    Sometimes there are exceptions if the microclimate is right for a plant it will survive further north than you would expect.
    I am sure there are more Fatsia growers out there who can help, the problem could be your plants are only young. A more mature plant could be more resistant to cold?
    I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
  • BiljeBilje Posts: 811
    I’m in NE England, no micro climate 😀 I have 2 now mature ( 20years plus) fatsias which were originally house plants. They do the droopy drawers bit every time it’s frosty but perk up as it warms up and fully recover. All that I lose are the flower/seed stems. I’m sure your fatsias will be fine
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    The plain green Fatsia is hardy for me (it was already a mature plant when we bought the house in 1988), but it is close to the wall of the house - East facing so it does get sun on frosted leaves on mornings like today, and it isn't wilted. Th often looks a bit weatherbeaten and ragged around the edges by spring, which is when I prune it so that new shoots can come through. I think the variegated ones might be more tender but I haven't grown them.
    Gunnera is herbaceous isn't it? So the previous season's leaves die off over the winter and new ones grow from the ground. I think I've read that you should leave the old leaves until spring to protect the crown, but there's one in my sister's garden which in inland North Wales at a fair altitude, so I don't think it's properly tender.
    All you can do right now is wait and see whether the fatsias perk up when the weather gets milder.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • ViewAheadViewAhead Posts: 866
    I have a simply enormous Fatsia ... and it is very droopy right now, but it will perk up by midday.  Even hard frosts don't seem to cause permanent damage.   The variegated Fatsias are definitely tender though. 
  • PlantmindedPlantminded Posts: 3,580
    Both my green and Spiders Web Fatsias go like that overnight when the temperature drops near freezing.  It's a natural defence mechanism. They soon recover without any harm.  The flower buds can often be damaged by frost though.  I just remove those that have gone brown and show no signs of recovery. Fatsias grow best in a shady location, despite what you would think by their tropical appearance!
    Wirral. Sandy, free draining soil.


  • thevictorianthevictorian Posts: 1,279
    I agree with what has already been said but will just mention that the size of plant can play a big role in how hardy they are. The spiders Web fatsia is reputed to be less hardy but the normal type is usually pretty tough when it gets to a similar size as in your pictures. Gunnera is exactly the same, with small plants sometimes needing protection, ie folding the leave down or adding some straw over the crown, but once they have established they can be pretty hardy. This is partly why they have now recently been banned from sale, simply because they have spread to areas where they are invasive. 

    In severe winters both can be cut back to the ground but it's unusual for fatsia to be that affected, although they can suffer from winter and take a while to look happy again.
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