is cat whisker plant dead?

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max9415 Port Charlotte, FL Feb 08, 2011

Does anyone know if a cat whisker plant (Orthosiphon Stamenis) can survive a light frost - south Florida. It has nothing but dead looking wood on it - no green at all- left after the frosts we had here this winter. OR do they come back in spring?

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NatureLover1950 Vicksburg, MS(Zone 8a) Feb 10, 2011

I don't know about cat whisker but I have several plants that die back to the root every winter. Come spring, I prune all the dead off and they put out new growth from the roots. I'd try that before you give up on it. And be patient, some plants that die back to the roots are a little slow to come back in the spring (like my Confederate Rose). Also, mine usually get a lot more than a light frost and they still come back.

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ecrane3 Dublin, CA(Zone 9a) Feb 10, 2011

Plant Files doesn't have this particular one listed, but the other Orthosiphon species are all listed as being herbaceous, which means their natural behavior is to die back over the winter. They're also listed as hardy to zone 9a which would mean a little light frost shouldn't kill them. So assuming that your species is the same as the others I suspect it's OK.

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honeykitty Port Charlotte, FL(Zone 9b) Feb 19, 2011

Okay , thanks to Naturelover1950 and ecrane3! As it is definitely warming up here in zone 9a now, I will try pruning the wood down and see if that helps and if anything happens.

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