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Will these perennials survive in raised bed?

13 years ago

I just built a semi-circular retaining bed next to my raised garden pond which is located in the middle of my back yard. The retaining bed is about 36"x24", 18" tall. It is made from large stones. I filled it with equal parts soil and compost. I planted Japanese Forest Grass and Sedum autumn joy.

Will these perennials survive in this bed over the winter? I get plenty of snow and freezing temps. I'd especially hate to lose the Japanese grass since it is a few years old and finally starting to gain in size.

Any thoughts?

Shelli

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Comments (6)

anitamo
13 years ago
I have both in my zone 5 garden and they do fine through the winter.
arbo_retum
13 years ago
shelli, if you add your location next to your zone in your i.d. line, people will be able to learn from and help you because they can relate to your experiences through theirs.

i think the question you have is not are these plants zone hardy but are they hardy when planted in raised beds. 18" is not terribly high but i don't know the answer. i think there is some rule about plants surviving in raised planters or beds if they are 2? zones hardier than your zone. but i've been meaning to look that up for awhile myself. I can tell you that my sedum in a container 2' H- survived our z. 5 winter fine last yr. and my hakonechloa planted on the sloped walls of our 'chasm' also has survived for years.

best,
mindy
www.cottonarboretum.com/
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Hi folks, I am new to Gardenweb but I have experience with the square foot method and perennials. I planted a dozen strawberry plants in square foot beds this spring. 1 plant per square. I have tried asparagus as well at 1 plant/square. Raspberries and blackberries will spread no matter how you plant them. I asked about rasberries and asparagus at Mel's website and I did not learn anything new. I do not use the square foot method exclusively with these plants because I want too many plants for the 250 square feet of beds I have. I own a rototiller and have no shortage of room. I want to pick large amounts of these crops and square foot gardening seems like it would be a pain on such a large scale. Termator, The reason you should replant strawberries every two to three years is because they become overcrowded and diseased. Poor yeilds by about the third year are the result. Dig up a plant or two and examine it. You will probably see dark brown roots with fewer white root hairs than younger plants. Break the crown in half, it will likely snap and be reddish brown inside instead of pinkish white like it should be. I try to replant some runners for a new bed each year.
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shelli563
Original Author
13 years ago
Thank you for your suggestions.

Mindy, I'm not too far from you in northern MA, probably more zone 5 / zone 6 cusp. Yes, my concern is whether or not these perennials will survive in a raised bed given my local conditions. I guess it will be an experiment.

I'm planning on building similar raised beds, but out of wood, for my herb garden. I've never planted with raised beds, just placed everything in the ground. I just don't know how the roots of these herbs or perennial flowers handle it when the soil freezes around them in a raised bed. I suspect the larger the bed, the better the insulation and survival rate.
arbo_retum
13 years ago
shelli, don't know if you're a phone person but the one person who i KNOW knows the answers about this- is warren leach at tranquil lakes nursery in rehoboth. if you do find out how to figure out hardiness w/in raised beds, please let us all know!
best,
mindy
scottyboipdx
13 years ago
I would think they would be ok...if you were a little nervous about it, though, you could mound a bunch of leaves over the whole thing...just to give them a little more insulation during the winter.
sue36
13 years ago
The sedum Autumn Joy will be fine, I am not familiar with that grass.

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