Garden Tip: I’ve never seen any research data to prove or disprove this hunch, but it’s my feeling that several of our moderately perennial plants (as determined by winter hardiness) have better chances of surviving the cold months if I cut them off at the ground and mulch them immediately. At least in my rural Collin County (cool side of DFW) landscape, that’s how I handle Mexican bush salvia (Salvia leucantha), lantanas and bananas. Within a day or two of that first killing freeze, I trim out all the dead top growth back to within an inch or two of the soil, and I cover the crowns of the plants with shredded tree leaves I’ve picked up off the lawn with the mower and bagger. On another side, there are scores of types of perennials that are completely winter-hardy to almost all of Texas, and all I do for them is to tidy up frozen top growth and apply a 1-inch layer of the shredded leaves as a mulch. It looks good, plus it conserves water, slows development of weeds and decays to return organic matter to the soil. That list of perennials that get pruned only as needed to keep things tidy include iris, mums, fall asters, ornamental grasses and tons of others. Some perennials look really ugly after the first freeze. Cannas come to mind. While their roots are winter-hardy, the tops turn to mush and need to be cleaned up as soon as you can gather them. They’ll probably need a couple of days to lose all their moisture. Hardy hibiscus (mallows) will die to the ground with the first freeze. Trim off their tops, leaving an inch of stem stubble so you can see where the clumps are. No need to cover them with more than an inch of decorative mulch. Summer annuals, of course, are now history if you’ve had a hard freeze, so it’s time to remove and replace them with pansies, pinks, snaps or ornamental cabbage or kale. I have a writing assignment this morning, so I won’t be able to answer crop-by-crop questions that might otherwise be posted on various annuals and perennials. But basically, this Tip was to give you guidance on the several types that might require a little special help.
Posted on: Wed, 12 Nov 2014 13:36:06 +0000
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