Winter-damaged Fatsia
I like Fatsias (Fatsia japonica) with their large foliage and surprising white flowers popping up in winter. Yes, in winter! But extremely low temperatures can be hard on Fatsias.
One of my clients lives in a beautiful Japanese-style home and his Fatsia by the main door looked awful after last winter. The top foliage was brown and drooping and the main stems looked like bare sticks. Even my client’s mother-in-law had things to say about my work in the entrance.
What to do?
Cutback
Now, I should mention that I don’t have much experience with Fatsia repairs. So I did my best by making cuts to just above active buds and growth, for there was some. Then I went back to my business hoping the plant would recover and green up. It didn’t really happen that way.
Time provides the answer
I was genuinely curious to see how the plant would react after my pruning but I was slightly disappointed when I showed up weeks later. The three main stems looked ridiculous, like bare sticks, with buds brown and faded; and previously green growth had turned brown.
Clearly, the only sensible thing to do was to flush cut the main stems.
And then, as I looked down so I could make nice cuts, the answer was right there at the base. I could see bright green foliage growing at the base. Restarting the plant from the base was the answer. Now I know what to do when a Fatsia gets hammered by very low temperatures in winter. Reset!
Experience
This blog post also nicely illustrates the need to spend time in your garden, working, observing and learning. Yes, formal courses are nice but hands-on experience in the garden can’t be beat. I made what I considered to be good cuts to just above new buds and green foliage but, eventually, I had to execute a full reset. Experience gained!
Be great!
