Winter Protection of Plants 



IF the ground is not ready for planting 

 in the fall, or if it is desired to delay 

 until spring, trees or bushes may be 

 heeled-in, this being done by laying the 

 roots in a furrow or trench, and covering 

 with well firmed earth. Straw or man- 

 ure may be thrown over the earth to still 

 further protect the roots, but if it is 

 thrown over the tops mice may be at- 

 tracted by it, and the trees be girdled. 

 Tender trees or bushes may be lightly 

 covered to the tops with earth. Plants 

 should be heeled-in only in loose, warm, 

 loamy or sandy soil, and in a well-drain- 

 ed place. 



Fall-planted trees should generally be 

 well mounded up. This hilling holds the 

 tree in position, carries off the water, 

 prevents too deep freezing, and holds the 

 earth from heaving. The mound is taken 

 away in the spring. It is sometimes ad- 

 visable to mound up established trees in 

 the fall, but on the well drained land the 

 practice is not usually necessary. In 

 hilling trees_ pains should be taken not to 

 leave deep holes from which the earth 

 was dug, close to the tree, for water col- 

 lects in them. 



It is always advisable to mulch plants 

 which are set in the fall. Any loose and 

 dry material, such as straw, manure, 

 leaves, leaf-mould, litter from yards, 

 and stables or pine boughs, may be used 

 for this purpose. V^ery strong or com- 

 pact manures, as that in which there is 

 little straw or litter, should be avoided. 

 The ground may be covered to a depth of 

 five or six inches, or even a foot or more 

 if the material is loose. Avoid throwing 

 strong manure directly upon the crown 

 of the plants, for the materials which 

 leach from the manure sometimes injure 

 the crown buds and the roots. 



PKOTECT ESTABLISHED PLANTS 



This protection may also be given to 

 established plants, particularly to those 

 which, like roses and herbaceous plants, 

 are expected to give a profusion of bloom 

 the following year. This mulch affords 

 not only winter protection, but is an ef- 

 ficient means of fertilizing the land. A 

 large part of the plant-food materials 

 have leached out of the mulch by spring, 

 and have become incorporated in the soil, 

 where the plants make ready use of 

 them. Mulches also serve a most useful 

 purpose in preventing the ground from 

 becoming packed and baked from the 

 weight of snows and rains, and the ce- 

 menting action of too much water in the 

 surface soil. In the spring, the coarser 

 parts of the mulch may be removed and 

 the finer parts spaded or hoed into the 

 ground. 



Tender bushes and small trees may be 

 wrapped up with straw, hay^ burlap, or 

 pieces of matting or carpet. Even rath- 

 •er large trees like bearing peach trees, 



John GdSl, Ingiewood, Ont. 



are often baled up in this manner, or 

 sometimes with corn fodder, although the 

 results in the protection of fruit buds are 

 not very satisfactory. 



It is of the utmost importance that no 

 grain be left in the material used for 

 baling, else mice will certainly be at- 

 tracted to it. It should be known, too, 

 that the object in tying up or baling 

 plants is not so much to protect from di- 

 rect 'cold, as to mitigate the effects of 

 alternate freezing and thawing, and to 

 protect from winter winds. 



Plants may be wrapped so thick and 

 tight as to injure them. Be sure that no 

 water stands about the roots of tender 

 trees, and cover the surrounding ground 

 with a heavy mulch of leaves or straw. 

 The labor of protecting large plants is 

 often great and the results uncertain, 

 and in most cases it is a question if 

 more satisfaction could not be obtained 

 by growing only hardy trees and shrubs. 



SMALLEE BUSHES 



The objection to covering tender 

 woody plants cannot be urged with equal 

 force against tender or very low bushes, 

 for these are protected with ease. Even 

 the ordinary mulch may afford sufficient 

 protection ; and if the tops kill back, the 

 plant quickly renews itself from the base, 

 and in many plants — as in the hybrid 

 perf)etual roses — the best bloom is upon 

 these new growths of the season. 



Old boxes or barrels may be used to 

 protect tender low plants. The box Is 

 filled with leaves or dry straw, and either 

 left open on top or covered with boards, 

 boughs or even with burlap. With 

 woody plants these are generally laid 



down, but the main difficulty lies in gel- 

 ting them down to the ground. 



Blackberries, raspberries, and so forth, 

 which are intended for mulching, should 

 be pruned in the fall so that no more 

 wood than is really necessary need be 

 covered. Then by digging away from 

 one side of each plant with a spade and 

 pressing down from the opposite side, 

 the plants may be bent over without 

 great difficulty. Plants laid down in the 

 same direction each year are quite readi- 

 ly handled. If all the plants in a row 

 are bent in one direction and made to lap 

 over each other, less material will be re- 

 quired to cover them. 



Other methods than those mentioned 

 for winter protection of plants are fre- 

 quently employed, but the foregoing are 

 some of the common and most simple. A 

 little time spent in preparing our plants 

 for the winter may prevent considerable 

 loss and disappointment. 



Mulching Bulbs. — It is of advantage 

 to mulch the bulb bed before the heavy 

 frosts of winter set in, especially if the 

 planting has been late, or tender bulbs 

 have been planted. For this purpose 

 fallen leaves answer well and are easily 

 procured, over which a few evergreen 

 boughs or heavy stalks should be spread 

 to prevent their being blown about. The 

 mulching should be removed early in the 

 spring, or the bulbs will grow up into 

 it, and be injured. — Rev. Jos. Fletcher, 

 Millbrook, Ont. 



Perennials are the backbone of the gar- 

 dens in the Northwest and essential to 

 them. 



Canterbury BelU a« Grown in the Garden of Mrt John Mero, Tilltonburg, Ont. 



