Tender plants require TLC to survive winter

Face it: You’re going to lose tender plants to the coming cold.

And though you may be resigned to losing some of those easy annuals, you may be less inclined to lose a beautiful rosemary plant or a sweet-scented jasmine.

That’s the spot Lois J. Bradford is in. She has a couple of prize plants she doesn’t want to lose. The Henderson, Iowa, woman wrote: “I received two shrubs called Yellow Bells as a gift. … I planted both of my small gift plants in a wooden half-barrel, and they have tripled in size over the summer.

“The only winter protection I can think of is to dig the plants out of the half-barrel and trim both the branches and roots until each one will fit into a big clay pot. I can winter the pots in my basement and then replant next spring. Will such strong trimming kill the plants?”

An Internet search of sunnygardens.com and other sites revealed that Tecoma stans is a tropical plant also called Yellow Bells, Yellow Trumpet Flower or Yellow Elder.

These are big, vigorous shrubs that make a fine background for warm sunny gardens, with the bonus of fragrant bell-shaped yellow flowers that may bloom in successive flushes from June right through winter. They prefer a minimum 50º F.

Bradford’s reply: “You found the plant! ... I will definitely have to bring them indoors, but will probably only be able to do it for a couple winters, because they grow into a small tree. I’m going to trim carefully and hope for the best.”

Contact the writer:

444-1059, rhonda.stansberry@owh.com