Freeze-damaged tree help

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ecrane3 Dublin, CA(Zone 9a) Apr 14, 2007

I have a 3 Pittosporum tenuifolium trees that were planted in December, then we had our deep freeze in January and 2 of them suffered significant damage, all the leaves on top turned brown and died. I know the trees are still alive because they've got leaves sprouting near the base of the tree, and I don't think the tops are dead either because the branches still feel flexible, and when I scratch the bark near the top there's green underneath. But there's no sign of any new growth near the top, and I'm curious if there's a way that I can help encourage the trees to make the new growth up there rather than at the bottom. The trees are about 7' tall, the original branches start about 5-6' off the ground and that's where all the leaves were that got killed by the frost, and the new leaves are all growing about 6 inches off the ground (growing off the main trunk, not suckers). I really don't want to cut the tree down to the ground and start growing all over again since I spent the money to have the landscapers put in taller trees and I know the top part isn't really dead, plus I'm afraid if I cut it down to the ground it'll sprout several new main branches and try to turn itself into a shrub instead of a nice tree shape like it is now.

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Resin Northumberland, United Kingdom(Zone 9a) Apr 14, 2007

I'd say the best is to just sit and wait - if they're going to leaf out, they will do so. Give them at least another 2 months before trimming anything off.

I'm a bit surprised they were damaged in CA, it grows well enough in western Britain.

Resin

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ecrane3 Dublin, CA(Zone 9a) Apr 14, 2007

Guess I'll just be patient then! (not one of my best virtues unfortunately!) They normally grow well here too, I think the problem was a combination of them just being planted a few weeks before we got our freezing weather, and the weather was unusually cold for us this winter, temps at night were getting down to 18-20F for about a week to a week and a half, plus several weeks worth of nights warmer than that but still below freezing (in a normal winter we might see one or two nights just a touch below freezing and that's the worst we get).

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