Re: Questions from a mild climate gardener
Nan Sterman wrote:
> Please alleviate my ignorance by explaining the process -- which plants do
> you dig up and store, how do you store them, when do you put them in
> storage and when do you take them out. And if your plants are often being
> dug up and I assume cut back before hand, what kinds of sizes do they reach
> in the ground? And how do you remember where the heck your bulbs are?
Hello from zone 5 SE Wisconsin!
I try only to plant the things that are hardy here - not from great
sense of principle, but because autumn is a VERY busy time of year
here. The two non-hardy plants I can't do without, however, are canna
and dahlias. Dahlias are easy - I plant them in a container and when
frost is on the way, I simply shear off the green, moisten the tubers,
and pack them in moist moss. I hang them in a mesh bag in my basement
(do you have basements there?) and mist whenever I notice them dry out.
I've experimented with leaving cannas out over the winter and had
limited success until I moved in August. I planted them very close to
the house (which gives off radiant heat during our usually cold winters)
and mulched heavily with autumn leaves. I had them come back 4 years in
a row. I dug them up when we moved, replanted them in a similar spot at
our new house and I think I lost them. I should have just hung them in
the basement the same way - but I really wanted them to work . . .oh
well.
I mark them with a little plant stake, and just seeing the leaves in the
fall is enough to remind me to dig and hang them. The only reason I
didn't dig the ones I experimented on was, I got injured that fall and
had no way of getting them in. It was quite a surprise to see them pop
up the next spring.
Just as you can't conceive bringing IN things, I can't conceive leaving
them out!! I'd be prowling around the garden in November looking for
frost damage!! I've lived in this climate all my life, and couldn't
imagine not having four distinct seasons (albeit winter is the
longest). It lends a sense of urgency and mystery to gardening - will
it come back? Will it bloom? (remember, our summers are VERY short -
miss a window of opportunity to seed or plant and you can kiss some
blooms good-bye!) will it survive? It did well last year, what about
this year? Makes spring the sweetest (and sometimes most disappointing)
season of the year.
Add to that global climate variances and mystery and urgency REALLY take
off. We had 2.75 inches of rain last night, 5 inches last week, and are
due for more tonight . . . . mystery and urgency indeed!!
--
Pat Mitchell
zone 5 SE Wisconsin
pattm@execpc.com
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do
nothing."
-Edmund Burke
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