1. Pic one are plants in my yard in Savannah, Ga damaged by the recent cold snap. We tried covering them but they sit developed serious droop and turned brown. 2. Pic two are similar plants in our neighborhood but on common ground maintained by a service. As you can see some have been cut back. I stopped and spoke to the people doing the cutting and they said that is what they do each year if cold hits. They said with warmer weather plants would begin to regrow missing leaves. Is that good advice?? 3. I have no idea what the name of the plants is, so trouble finding any background or care instructions. Thanks PAK
Philodendron bipinnatifidum. More surprising that it has lasted long enough to reach that size, than that it died now. I'd not have thought it was hardy anywhere north of about central Florida. But no harm in waiting to see if it re-grows from the roots.
Thanks. based on your ID, i found this: Hardiness: USDA Zones 9 - 11. This is one of the hardiest of all philodendrons. Frost may kill the leaves of tree philodendron or even kill the whole plant to the ground, but if the cold is not too severe and if the plant is well established, it will come back when warm weather returns. Indoors, keep temperatures above 55ºF (12.8 ºC) in winter and above 70ºF (21ºC) in summer. So sounds like it could come back. What do you think of the cutting it back to the stalk or trunk? Pak
Pruning now is premature, should there be another cold snap the "trunk" could be further damaged. Best to wait 'til warm weather is back.
as long as there is no rot going on, i'd leave it be as well. trimming it back now will only expose it to the elements even more. if it does get really cold again (enough to frost), i'd put something down around the roots - a heavy blanket - to keep them a bit cushioned. once the weather is back to normal and then gets warm, it should start regrowing again and you can then trim off the leaves that died.
It means there is extensive cold damage that will have to be cut away. That should probably wait until warm weather so that any cuts can heal rapidly. Cut surfaces can be dusted with powdered sulfur.
OK, got it and thank-you all very much for your quick and helpful information. This is a great group! Pak
Good fungicide yes, but is it still available? I'd have thought its sale would have been banned by homeland security.
The advice from the group was to wait till warm weather to trim the cold damage from the plant. The warm weather is here. My new question is how to trim the plant? attachment #1 picture is the plant right now. Attachment # 2 is some of the same plants that are in common areas in our development that the gardening contractor trimmed. As you can see they trimmed all the way back to the trunk or the stalk. - so do I trim all the way back or just trim the brown damage parts of the branches and leaves? Thanks for your help. Pak
Last frost in my area can occur as late as April. Average last date has already passed as it likely has for you. So to be safe wait a while longer then trim off only clearly dead tissue.
Sorry to disagree but the best treatment is to cut the stem (central axis of the plant) to the ground now before a fungal infection kills the root system as well as the underground portion of the stem. This may be far too late now but still better to try. Be sure and coat all the exposed parts of the stem with cinnamon which acts as a great anti-fungal. What most would call a "trunk" is truly the stem. All the stem parts exposed to a freeze that bad are already dead. If you see additional rot begin to attack the stem consult a local nursery for a possible treatment. Thousands of these plants were lost in Texas and as far south as southern Florida. I am aware of one commercial grower in Fort Lauderdale that lost her entire stock as well as many of her fully adult plants which were as high as forty feet up large trees.
So interesting to see a post and photos from Savannah. We moved there about 12 years ago, for about 8 months until the insects drove us back to Oregon. Mainly since I work outdoors with plants. Sure have a nice collection of shark teeth from the beach though. We lived near the corner of Johnny Mercer Blvd. and a small highway that led to the beach. It was a gorgeous area though, and if not for the sand gnats and fire ants, we may have lived there for a long time. : - )
