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AUTUMN
MULCHING |
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Here’s what I recommend and have been doing in my garden for many years. Sometime in LATE October or even into Mid November,
cut down to near ground level, anything that is not a woody ornamental
or has evergreen foliage in the winter. Typically the following evergreen
or near evergreen herbaceous perennials should not be heavily mulched
over the winter. Some of the following are also noted with an *. These
should have their dead stems cut off or removed, and only very lightly
have their green foliar basal rosettes covered by mulches. They need
to be at least partly exposed to light over the winter. If you do cover
any of the following with mulch, it should be removed sometime in late
March to early April. |
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Achillea – Yarrow * Ajuga - Bugle Alcea – Hollyhock * Alchemilla- Lady’s Mantle Alyssum – Basket of Gold Antennaria – Pussytoes Asarum – Evergreen Gingers Aster – Aster * Boltonia – Bolton’s Aster * Brunnera – Siberian Forget-me-Not Campanula – Bellflowers * Chelone – Turtle Head Flower * Chrysogonum – Goldenstar Coreopsis – Tickseed * Chrysanthemum – Mum * Dendranthemum – Mum * Dianthus – Pinks Duchesnea – Barren Strawberry Echinacea – Coneflower * |
Galeobdolon – Archangel Geranium macrorhizum Geranium cinereum Goniolimon – Statice Goodyera - Orchid Helenium – Helen’s Flower * Helianthemum – Rock Rose Helleborus – Hellebore Heuchera –Corabells et all Iris cristata – Crested Iris Iris verna - Spring Iris Jovibarba – Jovibarba Lamium – Lamium Lavandula – Lavender Leotopodium – Edelweiss Liriope – Lilytuft Lysimachia – Pennywort Oenothera – Sundrops Ophiopogon – Mondo Grass
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Pachysandra – Spurge Phlox procumbens – Phlox Phlox stolonifera – Phlox Phlox subulata – Phlox Polystichum – Christmas Fern Primula – Primrose Pulmonaria – Lungworts Rudbeckia – Black-Eyed Susan Salvia – Salvia * Saxifraga Sedum – Evergreen types Solidago – Goldenrod Spiranthes cernua Stachys – Lambs Ear Thymus – Thyme Tiarella – Foam Flowers Vinca – Periwinkle and any others with |
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If the herbaceous perennials have particular winter interest, such as Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ & Calamagrostis `Karl Forester’, leave the heads. No need to totally pillage the garden. Once you have cut off the dead foliage, scapes, stems etc, just lay them in the garden in the locations where you cut them. On plants that have bushy stems, such as Aster, break or cut them into smaller pieces. If they have diseases, they should have been cut off and disposed of long before this time. Also, unless the plant is of strong sentimental value or totally awesome yet disease prone, get rid of it and replace it with one of the more disease resistant cultivars or a different type of plant. I can’t think of another reason to keep disease prone plants in the garden. Also, any NATURAL leaf drop from the surrounding trees and shrubs I allow to remain on the garden. I’m not talking about naturally wind blown piles or leaves piled feet deep in the beds or forest. I am talking about what would naturally fall if the plants were growing in a forested environment. Chances are the plants that you have growing in your shady environment evolved in forested environments. Yes, if the leaves become dense on those listed above, damage often occurs. Yet, I have seen Pachysandra and Vinca performing admirably in Quercus – Oak & Acer – Maple forests. Apply our PLGF fertilizer to the entire landscape. See our link on the website for more information. Next, cover everything, leaves, stems, scapes, old flowers etc, except for those listed above, with about one-half inch to one inch of double or twice shredded oak or other mixed hardwood BARK mulch. Do not use wood chips. With the above listed perennials, an even lighter or less than a one-half inch application will not harm them. Actually it will protect them from the vagaries of the winter’s sun, since we haven’t received reliable snow cover for many years. In rock gardens using gravel mulches, mulching with bark mulch is not recommended. For certain winter sun sensitive plants such as, Calluna, Doboecia, Empetrum, Erica, Lavandula, Thymus and newly planted (within this season or the past 3 years) coniferous evergreens, including Chamaecyparis, Pinus, Picea, Thuja, Thujopsis, Tsuga, especially the dwarf and miniature ones, cover with a couples of layers of nursery or landscaping fabric. This will protect them from the vagaries of the winter sun when and where lack of snow cover is the norm. Covering many gravel mulched rock garden plants with nursery fabrics is also worth a try. Use rock or giant landscape staples to hold the fabric in place.
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| originally published 2005 V19 #2 |
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