Plant forum | plant this

Home
Plant This Forum

in your garden - welcome

Posted by JENN1973 30 Jul 2014 - 9:17:00 AM

I planted two Alberta Magna Trees (approx 1.8m's) a few months back and after a recent frost, the leaves all browned and both tree's look less than healthy. Can someone tell me if they will recover and what should I do, if anything to aid the process.

Comments (3)

Re: EDITOR 12 Aug 2014 - 2:58:00 PM

That species doesn’t tolerate frost and it’s worrying ALL the leaves have browned off – it could be hard to retrieve from there. But given their height, you’ve made a fair investment in these plants and would be keen to salvage the situation. Their maturity increases the chances the frost has killed the leaves only, not the plants. But if they’re going to draw enough stored resources to re-shoot, you don’t want another frost coming along and killing off the new growth. The species should be suitable if you’re in a climate that’s temperate or warmer - but only if you can move them to a frost-free location: somewhere sunny protected by a wall with reflected heat or over-hanging trees, or higher up from where the coldest air settles.
Leaving dead leaves on the plant gives new shoots some frost protection so don’t do a tidy up prune until the plants have been moved to the more permanently protected position.

Re: Re: JENN1973 20 Aug 2014 - 8:22:00 AM

Thanks so much for your reply. Does the danger from frost decrease as they grow taller? I only ask as they’ve been planted in the ground for some months now so I’m frightened that moving them would stress them too much. Also is there something I can spray them with to protect from frost?

Re: EDITOR 26 Aug 2014 - 9:38:00 AM

Yes, pushing climate boundaries is a game of risks: taking, balancing and management. Certainly – IF you can nurse the plants past dangerous frosts to greater maturity – the chances of damage will decrease (not disappear). With frost already affecting leaves at 1.8m high, it sounds like the ’if’ would require a fair bit of vigilance and maintenance over winters ahead. There are sprays like FreezePruf and Agrobest’s Envy (no first-hand experience) that promise, with repeated timely application, to increase frost-resistance – though not guarantee frost protection. It becomes a matter of having your protection on and just how severe your frosts might get. Balance that against a second transplant – it’s still winter and not a lot of root establishment will have happened over the recent coolest months. You may not have any other sensible locations for them, but IF you can move them away from frost, it’ll be a lot less work over time and a guarantee of protection.

Tell our Plant Selector what you want & like and we'll search thousands of plant profiles for compatible matches