decumaria sinensis

Winchester_flare · 8 February

I had two Decumaria sinensis planted in my garden, a shady spot (under a small beech tree) on a NE facing fence. When I looked these up I thought they were going to be evergreen but through October-Dec the leave turned yellow and then fell off. There are new shooters coming out from the base but the main stems tied to the bamboo aren't showing much signs of life. Is this just what they look like in Winter? I read at very cold temps (below -10C) they become decidous but I'm on the south coast and it was losing leaves before temp got below zero.

I'm wondering if being adjacent to the beech tree might be an issue?

My thought process is do I leave this as is - or do I bite the bullet and try something else in this location? Maybe a fern. The view of these plants is the one from the kitchen sink so I want to have some visual interest in winter. Many thanks

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6030279/uploads/editor/j8/q0ltzg94o5wz.jpg

October

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6030279/uploads/editor/v0/l4a3ot3k9nxw.jpg

December

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6030279/uploads/editor/ef/l1q5tloa1evf.jpg

February

amancalledgeorge · 8 February

According to the RHS they are only hardy to -5°C and thus classified as tender. If the plant has survived and has shoots then I'd let it be for this season and see how it does. They particularly seem to need protection from cold winds so if they get that in your spot then worth a try
https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/31170/decumaria-sinensis/details

Plantminded · 8 February

You might improve its progress by removing all the plastic ties from the stems and separating and spreading the stems out so that they can self cling on your fence once the growing season starts, using a number of canes arranged in a fan shape and looser garden twine to support it initially. Clearing the leaf litter at the base and applying an organic mulch will also help.

thevictorian · 8 February

I have seen this species described as semi evergreen, which generally means it's only evergreen in very mild winters. It the same story as quite a few plants I can name but I believe as it's the plants first year, some defoliation is to be expected. As the plant settles and matures it will become hardier and you might get a more evergreen affect. I would leave it until spring and apart from giving it a good mulch (which I would repeat in autumn if it makes it to help protect the roots next winter).

Winchester_flare · 9 February

Fab - thanks all that's reassuring.

Plantminded said:

You might improve its progress by removing all the plastic ties from the stems and separating and spreading the stems out so that they can self cling on your fence once the growing season starts, using a number of canes arranged in a fan shape and looser garden twine to support it initially. Clearing the leaf litter at the base and applying an organic mulch will also help.

Yes will cut back those ties, do you mean something like this for a fan of canes: https://herbidacious.calamus.graphics/2023/02/28/quick-and-easy-trellis-fans/

Plantminded · 9 February

Yes, @Winchester_flare, easy to do with some bamboo canes and twine. It doesn't need to be a work of art as you can remove the canes once the stems start to self cling to the fence.

decumaria sinensis

Posts