WINTER PROTECTION 



WINTER PROTECTION 



1981 



branches are beyond their reach, protect the trunk with 

 straw, tar paper or burlaps, which will also prevent 

 sun -blistering. If the shrubs are in groups or low- 

 branched, run wire netting around them. Fall-planted 

 material should be better projected against frost than 

 established plants of the same species. All the Japa- 

 nese flowering forms of the plum, peach and cherry 

 tribes should have their roots mulched four or more 

 inches deep. The fatal damage in the winter of 1898-99 

 was at the roots, not overhead. Figs. 2731, 2732 show 

 protection by means of straw and boughs; 2733-35, pro- 

 tection inside of boxes, barrels and wire netting. 



Plants with evergreen foliage, like Heuchera sangui- 

 nea, are safer with a covering that will not mat down 

 and rot the foliage or injure the crown. The danger is 

 in open, wet seasons. Forest leaves are excellent for 

 winter covering, provided they do not mat down. Oak 

 leaves are good, but those of elm, maple and other 

 trees that shed their foliage early are soft and mat too 

 much. Leaves may be held in place by evergreen boughs, 

 brush, or tops of bushy perennials like our native as- 

 ters, or coarse strawy material. When leaves are used 

 iu barrels or boxes, the top of the package should be 

 water-tight, and the leaves dry when put in. This pre- 

 caution is not essential in all cases, but it is a safe rule 

 to follow. Tar paper is comparatively cheap and comes 

 handy in many phases of winter covering. Gather the 

 leaves when they are dry, and store under shelter until 

 wanted. Save vines like those of Clematis paniculata 

 and pole limas ; they are good for covering climbing 

 roses that are almost hardy. These keep off the bright 

 sun when the plants are in a semi-frozen condition, 



place an old wooden shutter or anything to shed rain f 

 placing leaves or manure over those that remain. 

 Where permanent wind-breaks, such as plantations of 



2731, Straw overcoats for roses. 



shield them from the drying winds, and retard prema- 

 ture starting of the flower-buds. Forsyth ia suspensa 

 trained as a climber on a south wall is benefited by 

 such covering, or by burlaps, as its sheltered position 

 induces activity too early and its flowering buds become 

 a victim to late frosts. Any rhizomatous iris, such as 

 the German iris, should be planted where surface drain- 

 age is ample, and in the case of young plants, or those 

 recently divided, not covered with heavy manure, or 

 they are likely to decay in wet weather. Cover such 

 plants with light material. Old established plants 

 seldom need protection. Pyrethrum roseum requires 

 similar conditions and treatment. All lilies except the 

 hardiest, such as L. tigrinum, elegans, Canadensis, 

 superbum, Philadelphicum, speciosum, tenui folium, 

 etc., are best covered by a mound of ashes — wood or 

 coal — which retains an even temperature. The other 

 iilies may be mulched with manure and L. candidum 

 with leaves. Eremurus in all its species, and Alstro- 

 meria aurantiaca , require a deep box of leaves and the 

 surrounding soil well mulched. An inverted V-shaped 

 trough placed over . i uch low edging plants as Veronica 

 circceoides and Thymus Serpyllum, var. montanus, is 

 beneficial. It is well to take up a few plants of Manarda 

 didyma, the double perennial sunflower, and Thymus 

 Serpyllum, and winter them in a coldframe, over which 



2732. A tender tree bound with branches of hemlock. 



The protected tree is a specimen of Gordonia about 10 feet high, 



at Arnold Arboretum, Boston. 



evergreens, buildings or solid fences, do not exist, tem- 

 porary ones should be made of boards, evergreen 

 boughs, corn-stalks, etc., to protect arboreal plants that 

 are not qviite hardy, e. g., in this climate Halesia 

 tetrapterctj and in the eastern states Magnolia grandi- 

 flora, hollies, etc. Place the wind-break at the sides to- 

 wards the prevailing winds, generally north and west, 

 and at the sunny side of any evergreen that browns. 

 The boughs or stalks may be attached to wire netting 

 or to cords fastened to stakes. 



The so-called retinosporas may have placed over 

 them an empty box open at the top. Shrubs that are 

 still more tender should be boxed, the box having a 

 tight top and ventilation at the sides. In all cases 

 mulch well at the roots. Magnolia Soalangeana. M. 

 speciosa and plants of similar degrees of hardiness 

 may have their branches tied in and empty casks placed 

 over them, one sitting partially inside the other, and 

 held in place by stakes. Put a cone-shaped covering 

 over the top to shed the snow. Or poles may be set 

 close to the tree, wigwam fashion. Wrap these with 

 burlaps, or wind string around them for the straw to- 

 lean against, and in both instances wrap with straw. 



The so-called hardy climbing roses, such as the Seven 

 Sisters and Prairie Queen, which are hardy without 

 protection but are benefited by it, Wichuraiana and 

 its hybrids, Paul Carmine Pillar, Russell Cottage. 

 Crimson Rambler, Thalia, and Lord Penzance Sweet- 

 brier hybrids, if against a wall, may have clematis or 



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2733. One way of protecting young rhododendrons. 



The space inside the wire netting is filled with autumn leaves 



