For October, 1923 



255 



Covering the Flower Garden for Winter Slumber 



FLORUM AMATOR 



SU.\ll{'ri.MIi in .\i)\ ciiilicr, usualh' the date dcpemls 

 on the latitude, we put the blankets over our hardy 

 herbaceous flower and rose gardens, and around 

 some of our shrubs, and tuck them in carefully there to 

 remain till taken off gradually early next spring. This 

 covering, which is not onlv a protection against low 

 temperature, but as well against frequent changes in 

 temperature, and furthermore against the burning 

 Winter wind and sun in some cases, must not be put on 

 prematurely, just liecause we feel that we should like 

 to get the work over with. Too early a cuvering may 

 heat and sweat the plants and cause the crowns of 

 herbaceous plants to decay, or even cause the Ijuds of 

 rose bushes and shrubs to swell only to be killed later 

 by severe cold. 



The plants should be entirely dormant before they 

 are covered. It is well, however, to have the cover- 

 ing material close at hand, as the inevitable time for 

 its use draws near, but better not to put it over or 

 around the plants till the ground is crusted over with 

 frost to the depth of about an inch ; then it should be 

 put on at once while the surface is still frozen. Then 

 the covering of frozen soil and the covering of manure 

 or other material, which we place above the frozen 

 soil, acting together not only prevents frost from 

 entering deeply into the ground and freezing the 

 plants to death, but what is equally iinportant, keeps 

 the plants from being killed by alternate freezings and 

 thawings, \\hich take place in Winter in some sections 

 of our country, the thaw causing the buds to swell and 

 the freeze which follows killing them. In short, there 

 are three main points to keep in view in covering our 

 garden plants: First, to wait till they are dormant, 

 and the ground is frozen a little ; second, to cover 

 them promptly, so as to keep them frozen and 

 dormant till Spring; and third, to cover the less 

 hardy plants heavily enough, so they may not be 

 frozen to death, but the hardier plants more lightly. 



The fact is, many of our herbaceous perennials 

 which are generallv classed as hardy, live through the 

 Winter onlv under the protection of a more or less 

 heavy Winter covering. Not a few. on the other hand, 

 though benefited by a light covering, will live through 

 the Winter without it. To this class belong such 

 plants as the Penny. Achillea, ^gopodium, Aquilegia, 

 Asclepias. Bocconia. Boltonia, Chelone, Dielytra, Dic- 

 tamnus, Hosta, German Iris, (lypsophila, Monarda, 

 \'aleriana, Lilium Candidum, and the hardy Japanese 

 Lilies, and Lily of the Valley. 



The true way is to study our hardy herbaceous 

 plants' needs as regards a \\'inter covering. If we find 

 certain plants winter better under a very thin cover- 

 ing, that is, if they awake from their Winter sleep 

 in a healthier and more robust condition when covered 

 thinly, then we should so cover them each Winter. If 

 we see that other plants come out in Spring from 

 under a mediumly thick protection satisfactorily, that, 

 then, is the proper Winter treatment for them. Again, 

 if certain plants barely survive the Winter under an 

 extremely heavy covering, we should see that each 

 Autumn they have that. Then observations recorded 

 in our note hook under the head of : "Winter Cover- 

 ing of Plants" would give us the exact information 

 for which we search garden books in vain. We should 

 not trust these valuable observations to our memory, 

 for we, the observers, may forget them. It is easy 



enough to sav in a garden book or magazine : "\\ hen 

 the ground is frozen an inch or two deep, cover your 

 hardy plants with six to eight inches of coarse 

 manure or leaves and above them lay boughs of ever- 

 green shrubs." In general this is a proper method, 

 such a covering will no doubt be beneficial to the most 

 tender of the so-called hardy perennials, but it may 

 smother others, which perhaps need no covering at 

 all, causing their crowns to decay. 



Instead of dumping the covering over our hardy 

 perennials, no matter whether they require a thick 

 or thin protection, it is better by far to place as thick 

 a covering as the plant requires over the entire sur- 

 face of the ground between the plants and very close 

 up to and around the plants themselves, but a thinner 

 covering of lighter material directly on top of the 

 plant. This method of covering keeps the ground 

 around the plant from alternate freezing and thaw- 

 ing, and the frost from penetrating the ground so 

 deeply as to freeze the least hardy plants to death, 

 but allows the crown of the plant, or the place where 

 the crown is beneath the soil, to get a little light and 

 air through its thinner covering and to start into a 

 strong growth in early Spring before the heavier cov- 

 eringaround the plant has to be taken oft'. Further- 

 more, when uncovering the garden in the Spring, we 

 can determine exactly where each plant in our garden 

 bed or border is, and will not be likely to break oft' 

 the crown buds or tender shoots which are just coming- 

 out of the ground. 



The material commonly used for covering hardy 

 herbaceous plants, including bulbous plants, cannot 

 well be improved on. namely coarse strawy horse 

 manure directly from the stable heap, well rotted 

 horse or cow manure, coarse meadow hay, straw, 

 evergreen tree boughs. It is much better to mix the 

 coarse or the well rotted manure and the leaves to- 

 gether, as leaves alone when Iieaten down by the 

 Winter rains or weighted down by the snows form 

 too impervious a covering. Evergreen boughs, when 

 they are obtainable, are useful in holding down the 

 leaves, hay or straw, when they are first put on and 

 preventing them from being blown away by the winds. 

 The boughs indeed, if put on thickly enough, are in 

 themselves a sufficient covering for the hardier plants. 



Bulbs, especially those which field mice destroy, 

 should not be covered till we find the surface of the 

 soil frozen to a depth of two or three inches. Then 

 thev should be covered thickly enough, so that the 

 STound beneath the covering will remain frozen till 

 Spring. This prevents the field mice, which may make 

 their homes in the covering, from digging easily down 

 to the bulbs, and at the same time the bulbs are prop- 

 erly protected during the Winter from frosts. 



Rose bushes, especiallv the taller growing hybrid 

 perpetuals. should be tied closely with some soft ma- 

 terial, raffia or soft string, to stakes placed firmly in 

 the ground near them. As soon as the ground freezes 

 a little at night, the soil should be heaped up around 

 them a foot or so high, and after this covering of earth 

 has frozen to the depth of an inch or two, the entire 

 bush, in case of the teas and hybrid teas, should be 

 covered with coarse inanure. leaves, hay, evergreen 

 boughs, whichever of these is most available. The 

 hvbrid perpetuals will probablv be too tall to cover in 

 the same wnv as the teas and hybrid teas, but straw 



