Exotic plants and freezing weather

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For the first ten days of the New Year the UK experienced an unusually sharp cold snap that ran itself out just two weeks ago.

Gardeners everywhere always keep a sharp eye out for the unusual, to claim that unusual plant which friends and neighbours can admire enabling the fortunate gardener to bask in the reflected halo of envy and admiration. We all do it. We all enjoy doing it. And our gardening pleasure is all the better for it. But how many of us who’ve nurtured borderline-tender plants in their garden had at least one ‘second thought’ about their tender policy as favoured plants went from green to black over night.

Was this the beginning of new, harder winters? Would we never again be able to grow exotic cannas and hedychiums outside in the ground without a pot? Did the precipice of our botanic gardening limits here in the UK need to be rolled back in future? Certainly since I moved here to North Devon my garden had not experienced such cold for so long and uninterrupted by warmer spells. I mean, -10C for two successive nights just stormed past my previous garden record low of -6C!

It’s the length of time that your garden experiences such cold that can be so fatal. And if the ground is sodden immediately prior to such bitter cold it’s ‘double-deadly’ for your exotic garden plants.

Fortunately, we enjoyed a comparatively dry December so I had no fears for my large, mature populations of Canna and Hedychium in the ground. Least not if the cold didn’t last too long because that would mean the freeze would seep much deeper.

But when I went in to the unheated greenhouse my heart stopped. There before me, my wife’s glorious 8ft Philodendron was lying flat beneath its protective blanket of frost fleece. A quick glance at the blackened leaves of the ‘cold’ cymbidium orchids told me they had had enough and were most unlikely to return – least not the majority. While the glorious felt foliage of the purple-flowering Tibouchina urvillea from Brazil had turned white and carpeted the floor. But worse was to follow.

In another unheated greenhouse the strelitzia (Bird of Paradise) had never looked so sick! Flowering stems had turned black and stems that would provide new leaves in the summer had darkened and turned horribly soft. But much worse were some of the leaves. They had curled and turned a horrible brown. (Pictured).

The only thing to do was to use some force and pull off the effected stems and leaves from the base. Because it was short-term cold, the plants were unaffected beneath the soil. Fortunately, the frost fleece and the damaged leaves served to protect the majority so I have no fear for the future. Only temporary disappointment that the display would not be quite so magnificent if it hadn’t been so cold.

My Pandoreas from Australia should be enjoying summer temps right now in the high thirties. Instead they had -10C for two nights. And they didn’t like it one bit. Their leaves lost their bright spring green look, turned very dark, even black in many cases. All were pointing down and felt unusually soft. They’d gone.

But the plants were, despite it all, were good. Sure, the new soft green stems grown in the summer that would provide new blooms in April had given up the ghost. But all the woody stems were hard, green and very healthy. So I spent six hours, over several days, systematically pulling off every single leaf. Note that I did not cut them off. Only the stems were cut, leaving a tangled network of stems above my head. But I’ve no doubt that once temperatures become consistently above +9C, with the increased light levels found from March onwards these plants WILL come back. It’s unlikely these late-spring/early summer flowering vines will flower this year, but I’m sure this enforced cutting back will ensure stronger and better plants.

Returning outside. I notice the shorter daffodils are actually in flower right now and have been for some days. Elsewhere, the corylopsis buds are fattening very nicely and dozens of my clematis can already be seen sprouting either new leaf tips or fattening buds or both. The clematis armandii for example, which generally flowers for 9-10 months every year has particularly large bright green buds and Clematis ‘Freckles’ actually has a few flowers with more to follow!

And the insect-digesting Pitcher plants from Florida which are outside? They’re fine. Unusually, untidy – even for this time of year I must confess, but nothing a good clear up won’t improve.

All of which encourages me to get on with the real gardening. More cutting back, more clearing up and getting up those damned buttercups! Which actually come up quite easily when they grow on a thick mulch – only there’s just SO many of them. But visitors will often remark how weed-free Winsford Walled Gardens are – so the effort is noticed. The gardens open daily to the public on Saturday, April 04 this year until the end of October. I look forward to seeing you.

• 26 Jan, 2009
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