Are you enjoying this amazing winter? Or are you, like this GardenLady, ready and eager for Spring weather? I guess I was getting spoiled with the milder winters we have had for the last few years.
The Farmers’ Almanac had predicted that this would be a frigid winter. Who wanted to believe? They do claim 80% accuracy.
This extreme cold weather does have a good side for gardeners and farmers. It can kill off some of the insects that attack plants. Fewer insect species survive temperatures that drop into the teens. With the frigid temperatures that we have had over the past few weeks, many of the insect pests will have died so that they will be less numerous in the spring and summer. Hopefully this will mean that less pesticides will have to be used on lawns, gardens and crops. Sadly, however, this frigid weather will also kill many of the beneficial insects.
Winter is coming to some parts of the US while some parts have already had snow. What should we do to winterize our roses?
Not all roses need serious winter rose care. Roses classified as old garden roses are extremely tolerant of cold temperatures and those who have Knockout roses and/or live in zones 5 through 11 don’t need to take any extra steps to care for these roses in winter.
You should winterize roses after the first hard frost but before that first snow. After the ground freezes put a thick layer of mulch around the base, but not up against the canes. The mulch keeps the ground temperature even and prevents the roots from heaving. Heaving happens when the ground goes through multiple freezes and thaws.
If you’re looking for things to do in your garden in February, TheGardenLady has 10 ideas for you to try.
1. Check to see that your garden equipment is ready and tools are sharpened if need be.
2. Check seed packages to see that they are not outdated and organize those you want to use by dates as well as decide what seeds you will need or want to order for planting. Go through tubers and bulbs to see if any have rotted or dried out and discard.
3. If it is not too cold outdoors or the snow isn’t too deep, cut dead or diseased branches off trees, shrubs and vines and put them out for yard collection if your city or town offers it. (Diseased branches should not be composted.)
Where TheGardenLady lives, we are having unusually warm weather. Of course, winter officially arrives on Dec. 21 st. So this is still a good time to be out planting perennial shrubs and trees.
The soil is still soft enough for you to dig ample holes. When your shrub or tree is planted now, it will get enough water in the winter for it to acclimate in your location.
Even though nurseries are filled with Christmas plants, ask if they have shrubs or trees you want and ask to see if they will still give you a discount. One nursery told TheGardenLady that the trees I am looking for are still in their field, so I know the roots will be good. Even though they will have to dig them for me, they will give me 30% off.
Fall and early winter is the time gardeners should be getting yard and garden plants ready for winter cold. Here are five things TheGardenLady wants readers to do to get outdoor plants ready for winter.
1) Check trees for diseased, dead or broken limbs of trees and cut them off so that they don’t fly off during a storm.
2) Put potted plants into your garage if you have one- take out the plants on sunny days to revive them- or put the planters with the plants in your basement window wells.
I am getting ready for winter and thinking of next spring. Are my readers also doing the same?
I did my first major raking. Living with so many trees, this raking will be ongoing until the last leaf has fallen. But I never throw any leaves away. They are always saved. I don’t leave any leaves on my street. I greedily collect those, too, for composting. I hope you have compost bins for your leaves.
I just planted over 60 tulip bulbs for next spring. Now I have to hope that no varmint eats the bulbs. Unlike daffodil bulbs, tulip bulbs are not poisonous so animals may want to dig them to eat. But the vision of tulips in bloom, is worth the risk. Last year I only lost a few tulips. I have been talking to nursery people to ask what they do to safeguard bulbs and have been told that they put in red hot pepper flakes in the holes with the bulbs. They buy the cheapest giant economy size of pepper flakes for this purpose. I used up my old bottles of pepper flakes and also put in some moth balls into each hole with the bulb food. Then I sprinkled Tabasco sauce or hot chili oil plus stale ground black pepper on the ground after I covered the bulbs with soil. Hope that will detract those cheeky chipmunks.
In addition to winter-flowering flowers (see here and here), there are also winter flowering shrubs. Many of these shrubs are hardy in US hardiness zones 5 and warmer.
One of the earliest blooming shrubs is the witch hazel. Witch Hazel, Hamamelis intermedia “Pallida” is considered one of the best to open in mid to late winter. See here. Friends eagerly went to view the one that opened early in a local garden. Many of the Hamamelis have the added bonus of fragrance. Plus the witch hazel has fall interest with colored foliage.
My very favorite winter flowering perennial plant is the very early winter blooming Hellebore. I cannot rave enough about this hardy perennial. The Hellebore is the plant that I greedily want more and more of growing in my yard. The earliest blooming ones are the Christmas rose Helleborus niger. Mine are spectacular and as they age, they are turning pink.
There are many websites about how to plan to prevent damage to trees in winter snow or ice storms. See here, for example.  These articles tell one how to pick strong trees that won’t be as prone to winter breakage and how to wrap trees or shrubs to try to protect these plants from damage.
But no one expected such a harsh winter as we are having this year and no one predicted the amount of snow. When I checked the Farmer’s Almanac in 2010, they predicted a rather normal winter. They have an updated version if you want to see what they think will happen for the rest of the winter. See here. So at this stage of winter, no one can really tell you what damage your shrubs and trees will suffer because of the amount of snow we have had. We will all have to wait to see how our plants survive.
Winter is the time of year when people who live in climates where there is a barren landscape or with snow, would like to look out the window and see some color outdoors. Unless you have “planted” artificial flowers, no living flowers will bloom outdoors at this time of year. So those lucky or smart enough will have planted plants on their grounds with color interest. If you don’t have plants with color, consider adding them to your landscape in the spring so that they will brighten the view next winter.
Two popular plants for winter interest are the red and yellow twig dogwoods.
Red twig dogwoods such as Cornus alba cultivar ‘Elegantissima’ or the cultivar ‘Argenteo-marginata’ are native to Asia.
Red osier dogwoods (Cornus sericea or Cornus stolonifera) with a cultivar like ‘Cardinal’ are native to North America.
Bloodtwig dogwoods (Cornus sanguinea) with cultivars like ‘Winter Beauty’ or ‘Winter Flame’ are native to Europe.
Cornus sericea 'Flaviramea' by Caffinara
The Yellow twig dogwood is Cornus sericea with cultivars like ‘Flaviramea’ or ‘ Bud’s Yellow’ or ‘Silver and Gold”
Some of the cultivars are more orange than red or are yellow with red tips.
Both yellow twig and red twig dogwoods are shrubs, which mean they grow about 10 feet tall. They have berries and flowers so they have all year interest, but they are both grown mainly for their wintertime twig color. Some grow in temperature zones as low as zone 2 and as high as zone 8. They like sun for most twig color but can take slight shade. These are showiest and most effective if you have a location where you can plant a few shrubs in one area that you can see out the window.
If you are interested in these shrub dogwoods, check out the best nursery in your area. See which cultivars they recommend for your area. You don’t have to buy the plants at this nursery; but you will get an idea of what the best nursery recommends. Then see what the lower priced nurseries have available. See if you like what you see. The price might just be lower because they sell a smaller tree. Google up the Latin name of the plant with the cultivar and see if you have the best environment on your property for the plant.
If you plant the yellow and/or red twig dogwoods, please send TheGardenLady blog a photo of the colored twigs next year in the winter. The photo would be especially appreciated surrounded by snow- like most of the country is getting this year.
