Question
Further to the questions re daisy trees and over winter storage. The branches from the trunk out for about a 12-18" are now covered in brown (dead?) 'leaves/foliage'. Is it right to just scrape /prune all of that off? It tends to make the tree look more skeletal than the nice bushy look we started with. It seems that it will not fill back in again. Is this normal? The outer extremities of the branches remain green i.e. about 6-8".
Or is it time to chuck it and try again?

Answer
Hi Bill,
Thanx for your question.  As with many tropical plants, bringing the plant in for winter storage, will result in some or complete dormancy.  Oftentimes, the plant will appear to be almost dead or on its way to the compost pile.  Once it is safe to take the plant outdoors after the last frost, place the plant in a shaded area for 10 days unless the plant has been in a window all winter where it gets exposure to the sun no matter how low in the sky.  The plant will tolerate a lot of severe pruning.  You can safely remove all the dead matter and even trim the shrub back where it appears dead and branches easily snap.  Gently blend in some well-composted manure into the pot and water the plant once a week.  It will take a while but depending upon how far north you are, the plant should have made a substantial recovery by June.  Many tropicals look terrible this time of year as we get them ready for their summer (outdoor) vacation.  Keeping these plants outdoors does wonders for them.  There is a lot of benefit for these plants to receive natural rainfall and exposure to the sun.  I hope this helps.

Tom