Hi - I’m new here and not sure just where to post this question. As many of you may know, Texas suffered a severe 4-5 day hard freeze here in February. Many (all) of my outdoor plants froze - some will survive. Among them is a very large split leaf philo (see images). We waited to make sure there would be no more freezes and then cleared away the damaged leaves. This plant has frozen before but not for 4 days. My question now is do I cut those stalks down to the crown and do I sever those roots completely? The plant is showing signs of new life from deep within the crown - one lone shoot is emerging (see image). The root of this plant is older than me. I have moved it (or parts of it) three times. I do not want to lose it if at all possible. Any advice you can give is greatly appreciated! Thank you! Lisa Nelson
Probably better if someone with a bit more experience replies, but I would take a "wait and see" approach to see what has survived and what hasn't. As long as you are okay with its present appearance, you should know within the next few months what will push new growth--and then you can prune away anything dead at any time. Sorry about your plant -- it looks like it was quite the specimen before then.
Thank you Daniel. We will wait and see. We were advised by a nursery here to apply copper fungicide to prevent fungus in the “weeping” areas and not cut it for now. We are fine with it this way. Attached is an image of it in its full glory up until February’s freeze.
What a beautiful plant - that's so sad to see. You said it's showing signs of life. I hope you'll show us photos now and then while it's recovering.
Hi all - I just thought I would let you know that the plant survived and is growing well. I've attached a picture for you. Thank you for your help and interest!
PS - we did end up cutting the stalks back when we had more than a few leaves showing - all of them from the heart of the plant.
