Manihot grahamii (Hardy Tapioca)

I bought two of these last year, and they grew very well for me near my fish pond. The tall woody "trunks" remain still, though the leaves fell after frost last season. Plant Delights (where I bought it) says it's hardy for our area, but I haven't seen any new signs of growth on either yet, though my other trees are all sprouting new leaves, as is everything else in the yard with this warm weather rolling in. Their site also said it dies back to the ground, but mine did not. It's still about 8' tall, just no leaves (like most trees).

Anyone else have one who can offer some insight as to if it regrows from existing stems, or should I cut the "trunk" down, and let it regrow from there? I'm concerned that this crazy winter we had might have been too much for his "hardy".

When I scratch the surface of the trunk, there is green ...

But the ends of last year's branches look a little strange ... and I'm wondering if I should cut them back to the normal/healthy looking point (cut about 8" off the ends of each branch).

And while I was just out taking these pictures, I overheard a ruckus in my greenhouse. Low and behold, Harold (which is what we call all the male cardinals that visit our yard) found his way in, but couldn't find his way out. Isn't that just like a man to keep bouncing against the walls vs. asking for directions? LOL He's sitting on the seed tray/flats to the right of the tropical birds. My cat, Charlie, a "hunter", heard the commotion and came running in there to see if he was going to score himself a nice breakfast. Fortunately, Harold followed my whistles from the other end and flew out safely before he succumbed a brutal death at the paws of my furry feline.

And here was my healthy manihot last summer. I love this plant/tree, and definitely hope it rebounds and grows this year.

This message was edited Apr 3, 2010 7:50 AM

They are just resprouting down here (N. central Florida). If there is still green under the skin, I would say to wait a bit longer and see, they are pretty tough plants once established.

I noticed a little green coming out near the bottom of the trunk when I was mulching a bit ago, but nothing near the top. The ends of the limbs appear dead.

Do they grow from the bottom up when they regrow in the spring, or will there be new growth on the upper limbs?

The ones I have noticed are coming back from the upper limbs, though it looks like the smaller branch tips were frozen back. In NC they may have been taken down to ground level, this was such a brutal winter for everybody. I would still wait if you are unsure about how much of the trunk/limbs is damaged.

I've definitely seen more growth, though all near the bottom, in the days since I posted this. Once the sun comes up, I'll try to snap a couple of pictures.

Here's the growth I'm seeing ... all on the bottom half of the tree.

I doesn't even freeze here and mine dies back a bit each year, but gradually getting taller and bushier yearly. Most of the branches now die, but the stem is perienial finally (used to die back about half way but no more). Best to wait til May and then cut off whatever is not growing new leaves or branches.

Thanks. It's definitely sporting new growth on the lower half; upper half is still bare. I will continue to keep an eye on it. I'm just glad it didn't die with the crazy winter we had this year.