RE: CULT: winter care?

Ellen,

I actually leave my TBs bare.  I have sometimes mulched new expensive
purchases or late plantings.  But then, we have a lot of snowfall and it
takes a lot of thaw in the freeze-thaws to remove the snow.  In a normal
year, snow remains on the ground well into April - snow banks are
generally over five feet in February.

Maureen Mark
Ottawa, Canada (zone 4)

		-----Original Message-----
		From:	Ellen Gallagher [SMTP:e_galla@moose.ncia.net]
		Sent:	Wednesday, September 17, 1997 11:18 AM
		To:	Mark, Maureen; Multiple recipients of list
		Subject:	Re: CULT: winter care?



		>Arnold Koekkoek wrote:
		>>
		>> I'd say you ought to mulch with something that
doesn't pack down but
		>> protects from winter sun.
		>>
		>>
		> Thanks for the advice, Arnold -- but when do you
recommend applying the
		>mulch -- before first freeze -- after?
		>
		>Griff Crump, along the tidal Potomac near Mount Vernon,
VA, where the
		>disastrous winter of 1995-96 heaved up and killed
hundreds of
		>well-rooted, but unmulched, seedlings transplanted in
July.
		~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

		 I won't answer for Arnold but we put put a smidgen of
dirt and
		 cover the exposed rhizomes right after the first hard
frost and
		 then put a very small convering of pine needles around
the bearded
		 iris and yes, right up to the stalk. No big deal with
straw, etc.

		 I was very much interested in John Montgomery's post
and it is in
		 my iris files....if I lived in Zone 5, I would do what
John does.
		 I am afraid to chance it with temps that can go down to
-42 F degrees.
		 But I am sufficiently bold enough to take two or three
bearded and
		 try leaving them 'naked' this winter and I will - ok,
John?

		 Also, to Griff and others who live in that freeze, thaw
cycle
		 territory of Zones 4-7, I instinctively feel (no
scientist here :)
		 you should go with John's shaving or trimming of roots
since they
		 seem to be of no use to you in the heaving, etc.

		 Cheers on a beautiful but chilly Fall day,

		 Ellen


























~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
		Ellen Gallagher \ e_galla@moose.ncia.net \ Lancaster,
New Hampshire,USA
		  USDA Zone 3a \ Northern White Mountains\ AIS Region 1
{New England}
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