winterizing Z5 beds
- To: Perennials list
- Subject: winterizing Z5 beds
- From: P*
- Date: Mon, 08 Nov 1999 12:31:51 -0600
Barb Wrote:
Subject: Winterizing Z5 (IL) perennial beds?
>OK, I know there are probably a dozen (at least) different answers to this.
>What do you do to protect your perennials over the winter?
I have been raking my leaves onto my beds but I'm afraid that I may be
smothering them. I always have things that don't survive. Or could I
not be
raking them off early enough in the spring?
And this year, so many things are still green so I hate to cover them up
yet.
Would it be better to mulch the leaves and put them around the plants
rather
than actually covering them? Would this hold true in years when
everything
is pretty much dead by now?
I'm in your zone and I cover everything with leaves and it works fine.
This year is particularly hard, since we've had VERY uneven temps.
We've already had a killing frost here, but today it's s'posed to be 72
degrees . . . Hard to tell what to do.
I've chopped up all my leaves and dumped them on the gardens. I don't
cut anything back until spring, so there is green peeking out everywhere
(even some late phlox blooming - and one lone *snow Lady* daisy
reblooming). The fact that we haven't had rain for 4 weeks makes me
think I got the leaves on just in time - to hold in what little moisture
I have.
I think (and this is my opinion only) that the key is to chop those
leaves. The oak leaves matte down and keep needed moisture out, and the
others blow away too easily in the windy conditions we tend to have this
time of year. Chopping them seems to keep them in place better for me.
By chopping them in the autumn, I don't have to rake them off in the
spring, either - they are quite nicely composted after oodles of snow
and spring rains.
YMMV
--
Pat Mitchell
pattm@execpc.com
Zone 5 - SE Wisconsin
-----
Everyday is a gift. Tomorrow is not a guarantee.
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