2. Canopy Cover
Along with the roots being susceptible to damage from cold temperatures, the canopy of leaves are frost tender as well.
Freezing temperatures can cause leaves to blacken and die off or the entire canopy may suffer, first turning brown at the crown where the leaves emerge from the stem, then collapsing entirely.
If you’re in Zone 9 and expect cold nights, you can protect the foliage by covering it with burlap, an old sheet, or a frost protection blanket.
Avoid using sheets of polyurethane – plastic touching the leaves can transfer cold temperatures and cause even more damage.
I use spun bond frost cover that is available by the linear foot from Arbico Organics.
Gently drape the protective fabric over the canopy, using poles or stakes to prop it up into a tent to keep it from touching the leaves if needed.
Secure the drape to the plant’s stem or supporting stakes with clips or by tying the four corners together.
Now, I have to confess, when my trees grow more than 10 feet tall I don’t cover the canopies.
It’s too much work for this lazy gardener, and should a cold spell kill the crowns, I don’t mind the change.
But the root zone always gets a good mulch so that the basal shoots stay healthy enough to replace what nature takes away – out with the old, in with the new!
A string of small holiday lights spread through the canopy can also produce a little heat to keep it warmer for short periods of time, but only if they’re the old incandescent bulbs – LED bulbs run cool and won’t produce enough heat to make a difference.
Remove canopy covers once the danger of frost has passed.
3. Tie Up Basal Shoots
Mature dracaena plants push up basal shoots each year and the tender new growth may require protection from cold temperatures or snowy buildups.
To protect the root zone of basal shoots, use a thick mulch as outlined above.
To keep the crowns of young shoots healthy over winter, they need to be shielded from build ups of ice or snow, which can flatten the foliage and quickly cause crown rot.
You can tent the foliage with a frost blanket and stakes, or a cloche set over top of the tender shoots is an easy way to keep the crowns covered.
If your dracaena is too big for a cloche, you can gently tie the foliage together to form tight spears.
Tying the foliage together greatly reduces the surface area so snow and ice can’t settle, plus it effectively envelops the crown, shielding it from the cold.
Use garden or kitchen twine to wrap the shoots. Gather the foliage together into manageable bundles, then start wrapping the twine at the bottom.
