Protecting architectural plants
IF, like me, you love architectural plants like bananas, palms and tree ferns, you’ll know that mid-autumn is the time we need to start thinking about protecting our treasures from whatever the next few months have in store.
We may be lucky and have a dry, mild winter but it’s not worth taking any risks with these special plants. Frost, snow, gales, heavy rain and plummeting temperatures have the ability to kill the upper parts of vulnerable specimens, and can cause irreparable damage to roots.
Some plants are dead easy to protect. All I do with my tree ferns is stuff a handful of straw in the top to keep the embryonic fronds snug. My olive, pomegranate and cordyline in pots are simply wrapped in a sheet of fleece, held together with twine, when a cold snap is forecast.
It’s a good idea to place containers on bricks to allow excess moisture to drain away, preventing puddles from forming underneath that could lead to roots rotting. This also allows air to circulate freely under the pot, stimulating the growth of new roots.
My Japanese banana requires more attention. After spreading some manure around the base to protect the roots, I snip off all of its leaves to leave the trunk. This is surrounded with a ring of chicken wire and filled with straw. A large plastic bag is placed over the top of the structure to keep out rain.
This year I planted Blechnum brasiliense ‘Volcano’, an evergreen fern with colourful fronds. Unfortunately it’s only hardy to -5°C, so needs a barrier from the worst of the weather. It’s a bit of an experiment for me, but I’ve decided to build a pyrmaid of canes around the plant that will be wrapped in fleece when the weather is looking a bit ropey.