Settling Down for a Not So Long Winter's Nap
by Monica Brandies
Once my mother and I were walking around our neighborhood when we came upon a sycamore tree dropping brown leaves. “What’s wrong with that tree?” Mama asked. “Nothing,” I said, “it’s just almost winter.” “Oh,” she said. “I forgot." It is easy to forget old winter in Florida most of the time. Many of our trees and shrubs are evergreens, mostly what are called broad-leaved evergreens, rather than the needled evergreens prominent in northern states.
Crepe myrtles often show lovely fall color before the last leaves fall. Photo by Monica Brandies
But some of our plants are deciduous, which means they go dormant and drop their leaves in the winter. Some, like sycamore, drop all their leaves early and are bare for months. Others, like crepe myrtle, hold their leaves for quite a while and are not bare for long. There is a great advantage to having some of these trees. They let the sun shine through in the winter when we need it, and then give shade all summer. They are also the plants that have autumn color, even if it comes in December.
Some herbaceous plants (those that don’t have woody stems), just fall over and the stems disintegrate if we leave them alone. If you are very neat, you can cut them away and put them on the compost pile. But don’t detach them as long as they still have some green because they are still making food for the roots.
If you’ve visited my garden in early November, you may have noticed the voodoo lily and blood lily foliage lying on the ground, looking sad. But they aren’t dying, just going to sleep until spring. Next the pinecone gingers and some of the butterfly gingers start to turn tan. It is a good idea to mark where these plants are resting so you won’t forget and plant something else there, thus damaging the roots of the lilies or gingers.
Pinecone gingers retreat underground for the winter. Photo by Monica Brandies
Many of these plants have root systems that grow as they sleep. I bought my first pinecone ginger in the fall and it had only two or three leaves. When it disappeared, I thought I’d killed another plant. But the next spring it came up with a dozen large leaves and one treasured cone of flowers that I squeezed for the lotion every time I passed it between the 4th of July until New Year’s Eve. That night, it fell off in my hand. It was a blow, but I have since realized that I was lucky it lasted so long. Often the cold takes them sooner.
The great thing about pinecone ginger is that you don’t have to worry about cold damage, at least in the Tampa area. Further north you might want to mulch them heavily in the winter so the roots are warm enough underground. I am always glad I don’t have to cover them or carry them in and out.
Fall visitors also might have noticed that my mulberry looked terrible and the dogwood had few leaves, but quite a few little turban buds that will be flowers in the spring. The leaves of the plumeria also look bad toward the end of the season, and sometimes many have already fallen, while one last branch is still blooming. Plumeria is sensitive to cold, but old socks on the bare limbs will keep them warm. Check them for softness after a cold spell and if they seem soggy, prune them back to where they are solid. Otherwise, the rot moves down on the plant.
Fig trees lose their rusty leaves in winter and put on new clean ones in spring. Photo by Monica Brandies
Figs are deciduous and the leaves often get rusty looking by the end of the year, but it doesn’t matter because they are going to fall off. To reduce the incidence of rust, you can rake up and discard those leaves. Figs are hardy in zones 6-10B, so there is no worry about freezing.
Peacock gingers fade away in late fall, but will return in the spring. Spread some sweet alyssum seeds over the area for winter flowers.
In northern Florida, plant caladiums in a wheelbarrow and roll them into a garage for winter. Photo by Monica Brandies
Caladiums also die down in most cases. My stepmother had one that stayed lovely summer and winter for years, but it died soon after I inherited it. Vicki Parsons of Neem Tree Farms planted nasturtiums in a caladium bed one fall and had constant color for years: nasturtiums in the winter, caladiums in the summer. Nasturtiums are great self-sowers. Further north, you can dig up the caladiums and keep them safe indoors just like we did in Iowa.
© 2014 Monica Brandies. Originally published in Florida Gardening, Dec / Jan 2014. Reprinted by permission.