Questions about Fall work with perennials and shrubs?
prairiemoon2 z6b MA
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
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Early questions about winterizing perennials
Comments (8)I'm in Z5 in NH, and up HERE, having a Buddleia overwinter on its own w/out protection is iffy. So I do mulch mine in the fall with something- whether it's straw, leaves, or whatever. We have deciduous trees, so there's never a shortage of leaves. Snow abounds, so that also helps. I cut it back to about 6-8" in late March here. Lilacs- You're good to go with those. Leave them be. I am taking some time now & again to check out the pruning schedules of all of my shrubs- several the same as you have, and it's making a big difference. I pruned mine RIGHT after they bloomed this year, as one instruction I read said that new growth starts almost immediately, so I gt on that one right away. Weigela- Mine is very unruly, but blooms its head off twice a season. I'd like to re-shape it, but need to read up some more on that. All my "general" perennials: I use the rule of thumb: If they're brown, cut them down; if they're green, leave them be. Because I have a lot of garden space to tend to, and I work F/T, I get on this as often as possible, doing a little each time I'm out so the spring workload isn't so much. I clean both in spring & fall, but mostly in fall. Iris: I trim down the Siberians in the fall, even before they turn brown. No harm there. I also am trimming down my Bearded ones this year since my 'logic' is that if someone was going to sell them to me, they'd come trimmed down already. So...I figure it can't hurt. Anything in the veggie patch gets tilled under or pulled & composted. Wouldn't it be wonderful if there were such a thing as a perennial tomato??!!! I have a boxwood, too, and it does fine over winter. I don't mulch my Peonies. I might cut them back, but only after they die off on their own. Another thought on pruning: If you're a die-hard gardener, you'd probably cringe at this, but my DH took the shears to all of our shrubs about 2 weeks ago: Ninebark, Tardiva Hydrangeas, Golden Rose of China, Spirea...if you're out for that perfect timing, perfect shaping, and ideal bloom show, likely this isn't the way to go, but it doesn't hurt them in the slightest....See MoreQuestions about placement in a Perennial Bed
Comments (13)Well, thank you all for giving me something to think about. I've decided just this year, that I am design challenged in the garden. I don't seem to be coming up happy with any of the results of what seemed like great ideas at the time. [g] So, I am a little gun shy of placing plants this time around. It seems so odd, that I can recognize good design and find many gardens and styles of garden that I absolutely love, but to create a garden seems more of a challenge than I thought and placement is where things start to go wrong for me. Like you Kathy, what I have to work with is not at all what I would choose, so I try to make the best of it, which lately is getting on my nerves. [g] I would love to move too and start over. Want to take me with you? :-) I was just looking at an old photo of your front garden and actually the size of our front yard is similar in size. You are lucky that you have the sidewalk, we go straight to the street. I like what you've done by having no lawn...it makes much more sense in that size yard and looks very attractive. I have wanted to do something similar in the front, but DH is reluctant to give up all the lawn. He feels mowing the lawn once a week is a lot less work than caring for perennial/shrub beds. Which I can't argue with. I still plan to change the front at some point, but it's at the bottom of the priority list right now, so I am stuck with this square bed. Actually last year, after placing perennials and filling in with annuals, I was happier with the bed, than I am now. I got carried away with winter sowing last year and OMGosh, to describe what went wrong, I just had to count how many Shasta Daisies I put in that bed...ten! LOL My first time trying shastas, and I was not prepared for how fast and large they grew. They were supposed to be dwarfs. Wow, no wonder it was so crowded there this year. I didn't even have room for one annual that I could add! On top of which, I've discovered I don't enjoy Shasta daisies. :-) I've already ripped out most of them. Funny, you should suggest the diagonal placement, I was just reading an article in Fine Gardening, recommending the same thing. So, if I break the square up into two triangles the long sides of the two triangles would both be in the middle, diagonally dissecting the square bed, right? So on what side of the triangle would you try to add the taller plants? The diagonal line would either run from NW to SE or NE to SW. Street is on the East side of the square and house on the West. Ostrich...sounds like your methods are working for you. I'm not the one digging and moving, DS is and he is rolling his eyes every time I want to move 'again'. [g] Mad Gallica....you are right, that is what I need to do. I will have to give it more of a try than I usually do and see how it works out. Bonnie....I am with you, I do love experimenting and trying new combinations, now if I could just have a full time garden helper to do all the moving, I would be all set. :-) Thank you.. :-) pm2...See Moreperennials .. direct sow fall method .. newbie has questions
Comments (2)Dear Dreamywhite Hi. Welcome to the Cottage garden website. For fast results next spring I'd suggest that you consider fall sowing of some hardy annuals. Larkspur, annual poppy (bread seed poppy, esp.) Larkspur will come up this fall but most of it should survive fine. Money plant (lunaria annua) is another good choice though seed sown this fall may not bloom until 2014. An advantage of these flowers I've mentioned is that they are rather "airy" and fit in between more substantial plants and their seedlings are easily pulled up if they come in the "wrong" place. Mostly I would suggest that you go to the Winter Sowing forum on gardenweb. These gardeners use a method that is much easier than indoor seedlings. Seeds are planted in late Dec. through Feb.(perhaps Jan. through March in Wisc.) Recycled containers are used--gallon milk jugs and 2 liter bottles. Potting soil is used for the medium and the containers are ventilated by poking holes. The containers are watered and then placed outside!! Snow, ice, cold rain are not problems. If they can be placed where they have some protection from heavy winds that is helpful. This method works well for Perennials, Biennials, and annuals. Some of the things that Winter Sowers have done successfully are coneflowers, rudbeckia, foxglove,baptisia, lupins. Any plants that benefit by stratification (alternate cold and warm phases during germination) do especially well. Advantages: Seeds more protected than in open ground. Seeds will germinate at their own time, depending on the weather of the particular year. Seedlings do not require conditioning since they've been outside for their whole lives. Seedlings seem to be especially sturdy. Disadvantages: Cautions, might be better. Early spring is the danger time, especially if there is unseasonably warm spell. Containers need to be opened to air when it gets warm. This is the only time that the sower needs to water the plants. Check out the Winter Sowing forum and also check out Trudi's Website at Wintersowing.org. This gardener who has been working in the same place since 1977 has a bit of envy for your blank slate. Chris...See MoreNewbie question: annual, perennial and shrub herbs
Comments (5)I can't really give you a whole lot of information about things in your area, but I can tell you that oregano is certainly a perennial here in Savannah, as is thyme. My rosemary is certainly a shrub. Basil is an annual. Parsley is a biennial, and most folks treat it as an annual. I'll sometimes let it grow through the second year and go to seed, as I've gotten little "volunteers" that way. Dill is an annual, and you can use both the leaves and the seeds. And I'm with you on the e-mail issue. I have never gotten an e-mail notification of a reply to anything I've ever posted. Which sucks....See Moreprairiemoon2 z6b MA
2 years agolast modified: 2 years agodeanna in ME Barely zone 6a, more like 5b
2 years agoprairiemoon2 z6b MA thanked deanna in ME Barely zone 6a, more like 5bprairiemoon2 z6b MA
2 years agolast modified: 2 years agoprairiemoon2 z6b MA
2 years agolast modified: 2 years agoprairiemoon2 z6b MA
2 years agolast modified: 2 years agoprairiemoon2 z6b MA
2 years agolast modified: 2 years ago
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