Re: winterizing Z5 beds

To Barb down in Illinois-

I'm up here in Wisconsin and have varied success with mulching so am no expert.
I've spent most of my time trying (usually in vain) to get tea roses and
border-line perennials through the winter. In this particular area, we have had
two relatively (for us) mild winters and I've had good survival on the touchy
things like Buddleia. 

For the roses, I use rose cones with the tops cut off stuffed with chopped
leaves, and the individual perennials get a little mound of compost, only about
2 inches and 2 more inches of chopped leaves. BUT -  all this goes on after the
ground has frozen. (Sometimes I've been out in December in a couple inches of
snow doing this). I've always thought the idea of winter mulch around here was
to keep the ground safely frozen until spring was truly here and to avoid the
freeze-thaw cycle that breaks roots and heaves plants out of the ground.
Freezing and thawing can occur even in January when we get a "January thaw".
Another thing I have done in the past is to spray things like rose canes and
other woody things with an anti-dessicant - I suspect the cold, drying winds in
my yard are responsible for some plant deaths! 

Winters can be awful - when we get day after day of 20+ below zero, I'm not
surprised to lose things - there's not much one can do about severe cold. And
worse, the huge puddle that forms in the middle of the yard in the spring before
the frost is out of the ground - a skating rink which I am glad to see drain
away suddenly overnight and then I know the frost is out of the ground. And
today, two and a half weeks from Thanksgiving, we also made it to 70 degrees.
Weird?
-- 
Barb P.
SE Wisconsin, Zone 4


---------------------------------------------------------------------
To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@mallorn.com with the
message text UNSUBSCRIBE PERENNIALS
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index