Help for Lampranthus

[Micaela]

Hello everyone!
I have a problem with my Lampranthus. Most of its 'branches' seem wilted, but few are perfect.
What should I do with it? Should I cut all the 'branches' or wait for the springtime? (where I live - Abruzzo, Italy - isn't cold outside, we have a moderate winter (now the temperature fluctuates between 6 and 18 degrees centigrade).
When the Fall started, I moved the big pot to a protected place, covering the pot with a ground cloth (I haven't envelopped the pot, I have only put the cloth on it)...maybe I did a mistake
Thank you in advance for the answers.

[iann]

Have you watered it?

[Micaela]

Hi iann.
Not during winter, I have watered it (not much though) yesterday.

[iann]

Hi iann.
Not during winter, I have watered it (not much though) yesterday.

Ah-ha! Contrary to my usual advice, in this case you must water. They are succulent, but need nearly as much water as any normal plant. In a hot summer (not in England!) they can go dormant and get by on very little but in cooler weather just water them. Anything except standing in saturated soil is good. They can grow outdoors in England anywhere that doesn't get too cold for too long. They grow outdoors here for me, but every few winters they get killed by a hard freeze.

[Micaela]

oh.....my mistake then..as always.
What should I do now? a part of the plant is alive and green..the rest is withered and dry. Should I cut the withered part? 70% of the plant has withered branches...sadly.

[greenknight]

Anything that's clearly dead should be removed as a normal sanitation measure. Where there's any doubt, wait and see if it perks up after watering.

[Micaela]

Thank you very much greenknight. Tomorrow morning I'll remove the dead branches.
Do you think there's a chance for this plant to have new shoots?

[iann]

Anything that is still alive will regrow. It should be very vigorous during spring and until it gets too hot.

[Micaela]

Thank you very much!

[greenknight]

Oh, yes, they're tough plants. In California, where the climate is much like Italy, low-growing forms are widely used as a care-free ground cover.

[Micaela]

Could it be a good idea separating the good (4 or 5) branches from the rest of the L., and letting them root in another pot?
[sorry for the grammar errors, if any, today I feel deeply confused.. ]

[greenknight]

Wouldn't hurt to take some cuttings from the healthy parts, they recommend renewing these plants from cuttings every few years as the old plants get straggly. Cuttings should be 5 to 10 cm long. Don't cut it back to bare wood - as long as there are some leaves remaining on the old plant, it should grow back. If it still makes a good-looking plant, you can keep it going a while longer; if not, you'll have cuttings to replace it.

[Micaela]

Fine! Thank you