Perennials, Annuals, and Bulbs

Dr. Joel Poinsett, the 1st US ambassador to Mexico, brought the poinsettia to US in 1828. The plant, called "flower of the blessed night" in Mexico was renamed in Poinsett's honor.

• Tender plants in perennial gardens benefit from a light covering of evergreen boughs or oak branches with their leaves intact. The purpose of this covering is to lessen desiccation ordrying out by wind. Take care not to smother the plants. You should be able to see the plants through the branches.

• If outdoor plants dry out during the winter, the foliage can be damaged. Water plants in late summer and fall, especially if rain has been less than normal, and on warm winter days if soil is dry.

• Warm spells in winter: Sometimes in the middle of winter, we suddenly get a few warm days. For the most part, this is not a big problem, but you may need to check on a couple of things. If you covered your roses with rose cones, you may need to ventilate the cone to prevent heat from building up inside. The same should be done with coldframes. If it is a warm, sunny day, the temperatures may be rising in the cold frame more than you expect. Remember to close vents as the temperature drops again at night.

• If stored bulbs begin to shrivel, they are too dry. Place them in a container with potting medium, peat moss, or sawdust to stop the loss of water.

• Many gardeners choose to use inverted clay pots to cover perennials for an advantage of protection from drying winter winds. Chicken wire can be fashioned to stand over a large garden bed, and can be covered with burlap. Secure the burlap edges to the corners of the frame. Perennial vegetables such as artichokes, asparagus, chayotes and rhubarb can also be protected this way.

• To avoid harming near-dormant plants during the winter, do not fertilize, and reduce watering until growth resumes in the spring.

• A light covering of hay or leaves over perennials inside the cold frame gives added protection from low temperatures and bright sunlight.

• Bulb forcing can be started as late as mid-winter. Plant tulip bulbs with the tops just above the soil line and the flat side of the bulb toward side of the pot. Plant daffodils with the bulb tops even with the soil line. Hyacinth bulbs should be planted with the tops just above the soil. Crocus bulbs should be planted about 1 inch below the soil surface.

• Mums and pansies tend easily to be heaved out of the ground during weather freezes and thaws, causing root damage. Place discarded Christmas tree branches over flower beds to prevent this from happening.

• Use branches from discarded Christmas trees to mulch beds of bulbs.

• Mulch perennial borders after the ground freezes to a depth of a two or three inches. Applying mulch too early increases the chance of harboring destructive field mice that are still on the lookout for comfortable winter quarters.

• Sow seeds of alpine plants early in December in an outdoor coldframe. Ideally, the seeds should remain frozen until March, then germinate in spring, so the frame should be kept shaded and ventilated. Seeds also may be sown in flats and placed in some convenient, shaded, outdoor location where they will stay frozen until spring. A good covering of snow seems to help.

• Winter protection for peonies is necessary only the first winter to help prevent frost heaving. Mound soil over the new planting for several inches, or after the ground freezes hard, mulch with evergreen boughs or straw. Don't use a material that will mat down, such as leaves. In extremely cold climates, 10 to 20 degrees below zero, protection also is necessary for tree peonies.

• Check dahlia tubers and gladiolus corms in storage. If they are sprouting, place them in a cooler spot. If they show signs of shriveling, rewrap them in ventilated plastic bags. Moldy or damaged roots must be removed and discarded. Molding indicates over-moist conditions. Move healthy bulbs to a location with better ventilation, and set in dry peat moss.

"He who plants a seed beneath the sod and waits to see a plant, believes in God."

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