Q. I have a cassia at the
corner of my house to block the street view of my air conditioning unit. The whole center section visible from the
street has died. I’m beginning to cut
out the dead limbs. I check the cuts but am not seeing any green at the
bark. Is there a chance that partially
cut back limbs might still produce new growth?
Or should I cut back to the main trunk?
With no center section it looks ugly. Can I hope the living branches
will fill in eventually? Dig it out and
replant with a new one?
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| One of the cassias and what it should look like with proper care as it is getting at the Las Springs Preserve |
some winter kill but doesn’t sound like winter kill. Winter kill is most common
on new growth, such as the tips of branches, if temperatures are just below
their tolerance. If temperatures a considerably below their tolerance, then you
will see death also in the older, larger diameter wood.
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| This is what a cassia will look like armed with hedge shears, improper watering and lack of fertilizer 5 years after planting. |
It is odd if it is just damaging the interior wood and
leaving other parts of the plant alone. Another possibility is root rot if it
is watered too often or the area is flooded. This should be fairly easy to
determine by pulling the top of the plant toward you and looking at the base of
the plant.
In cases of root rot, trees and shrubs the plant will not
be securely anchored in the soil. When you pull on it the base will move around
and not be firmly anchored in the soil.
be able to scrape the soft outer bark with your fingernail and see green
beneath it. This is not easy to see in all plants. But at least the inner bark
should be cream colored or white.
is winter damage then the killing temperatures already “pruned” it back. If the
plant or plant parts are alive they will show you where to cut after new growth
emerges. When it emerges, cut a few inches below the dead part of the limb and
into the strong growth, just above a bud or at a crotch (where two stems come
together).
dead. Whether to remove it or not is really a subjective call and not one I can
direct. It is your call. With an established root system it should grow back
very rapidly and will fill in the spots where there is strong sunlight.