RE: Perennial book

Tracy DiSabata Aust -- The Well Tended Perennial Garden

Excellent book, even for those of us NOT in zone 5 (thank you God).

> -----Original Message-----
> From: lowery@teamzeon.com [l*@teamzeon.com]
> Sent: Tuesday, November 09, 1999 12:48 PM
> To: perennials@mallorn.com
> Subject: Re: Winterizing Z5 (IL) perennial beds?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> From: Valerie Lowery@ZEON on 11/09/99 03:47 PM
> 
> Nancy,
> 
> I would recommend that you purchase a wonderful book that 
> details all you
> need to know about taking care of your more common 
> perennials.  Problem is,
> I can't remember the darn name!  It is by a lady named Tracy, 
> it's about
> maintaining your perennial garden.  Anyway, she goes into 
> much detail about
> pruning, clipping, shaping, etc.
> 
> Yes, as a rule of thumb, I would leave those plants with 
> hollow stems alone
> until spring, particularly if you have wet winters like we do here in
> Kentucky.  We also have problems with stem borers, which will 
> quickly take
> advantage of any cuts you have made on woody stems (like 
> roses) and make a
> comfy home for the winter.  We also go through terrible 
> freeze-thaw cycles
> here.  This will stimulate growth on some hardier perennials 
> (especially on
> those I've cut back) and that new growth will die with the 
> next freeze.
> This will mean even more will have to be cut back.  We almost 
> never have a
> good dependable snow cover; our winters are full of 
> ice/sleet.  We have
> such a wide range of winter weather that I've learned over 
> the years that I
> have to be very careful about what I'm cutting.
> 
> What I never cut back in my zone 6a garden until spring:  woody stems,
> hollow stems, borderline tender perennials, plants that are especially
> ornamental during the winter (tall grasses, colored stems, 
> etc).  You're
> experiences may vary according to your climate and what you 
> have in your
> yard.  For everything I've mentioned, I'm sure that someone 
> may find the
> very opposite to be true for them!
> 
> Val in KY
> zone 6a
> 
> 
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