Plant Protection in Winter 



Wm. Hunt, Ontario Agricultural College, Guelph 



OUT -OF - DOOR spring - flowering 

 bulbs, especially the late planted 

 ones or those that have not yet 

 been planted, will benefit by having some 

 protective material put over them some 

 time before very severe weather sets in. 

 Four or five inches of long, strawy man- 

 ure, straw, long grass or autumn 

 leaves placed over them prevents, to a 

 very great extent, the bulbs from bv,ing 

 lifted or heaved from the ground by 

 sharp frosts and helps them to start 

 into root action during early winter. 

 Some evergreen spruce or pine boughs 

 may be put over the manure, not only to 

 keep the covering in its place, but also to 

 do away with the unsightly app arance 

 the manure presents during the winter 

 when not covered with snow. In ex- 

 posed places it may be necessary to fas- 

 ten the covering down with wire or pegs 

 to keep it in place. 



Bulbs that were planted at the proper 

 time — the second or third week in Octo- 

 ber — may not need protecting as much 

 as the late planted ones, but even these 

 will benefit by some protection, especial- 

 ly in sections where the snowfall is par- 

 tial and of uncertain duration. Dutch 

 hyacinths and crown imperials should 

 have some protection, as they are not 

 quite as hardy as tulips, narcissi, crocus, 

 and most other spring flowering bulbs. 

 Tulips and narcissi especially can be 

 planted as late as the weather will per- 

 mit, but are better planted earlier. 



Where Japanese lilies, such as Lilium 

 auratum, L. speciosum rubrum and L. 

 speciosum album, are attempted to be 

 grown out of doors, they should be cov- 

 ered with at least a foot in ' depth of 

 strawy manure. These lilies, however, 

 are seldom a permanent success as bor- 

 der plants even in the warmest parts of 

 Ontario. About the second or third 

 week in November is usually about the 

 best time to put winter covering on bulb 

 beds or borders. 



BORDER PLANTS 



Tender border plants, such as holly- 

 hocks, Campanula media (the biennial 

 cup-and-saucer plant), pqnsies, Shasta 

 daisy, Chinese pinks or any other par- 

 tially tender border plant that requires 

 protection, must receive very different 

 treatment from that recommended for 

 bulbs and tubers. Too often they are 

 treated exactly the same. Better no pro- 

 tection at all than to treat them in the 

 same way as for bulbs. 



After many tests and experiments for 

 protecting border plants as mentioned, I 

 have found nothing better than to place 

 over the plants first some small pieces of 

 brushwood, old raspberry canes or coarse 

 trimmings from the perennial border. A 

 few leaves may be sprinkled over and 



among these a light covering of strawy 

 manure about two inches in thickness, 

 over the top of all. This method of cov- 

 ering plants not only collects and con- 

 serves the snow around and over the 

 plants, but what is of far more impor- 

 tance, where it is essential to preserve 

 and keep alive the top growth of the 

 plant, the brush or trimmings mentioned 

 allow of a circulation of air-something 

 absolutely necessary to plant life even 

 when dormant in winter — and prevents 

 the plants from being smothered and of- 

 ten rotted and killed as they usually are 

 by a heavy covering of leaves or manure 

 alone. When the latter is applied to 

 growing plants alone for protection, it 

 becomes wet and soddened, then freezes 

 solid, thus forming a solid mass of ice 

 over the plant, effectually excluding the 

 air and usually results in smothering and 

 rotting the plant. 



In our often changeable weather irl 

 winter, and more especially during the 

 vagaries of late winter and early spring 

 weather, I have found the light covering 

 mentioned of great benefit to tender 

 plant life in borders. Whilst admitting 

 sufficient light and air to sustain plant 

 life, it effectually excludes the hot sun 

 thus to a great extent preventing the-al- 

 ternate freezing and thawing so detri- 

 mental to plant life in late winter and 

 early spring. Banking the snow over 

 tender plants protects them materially 

 during winter, but is of uncertain dura- 

 tion and benefit in early spring. There 

 is no better protective material for plant 

 life than dry light snow as long as it 

 lasts. 



BUSH ROSES AND SHRUBS 



Budded or grafted plants or hybrid 

 perpetual, or hybrid tea roses especially 

 in most sections of Ontario, are bene- 

 fitted by some protection. A good plan is 

 to first tie the bush up in a bunch, then 

 before severe frosts bank some soil 

 around the plant to about twelve inches, 

 in height in the shape of a cone. Tho 

 base of the cone should be about twelve 

 to eighteen inches in diameter and run 

 up to a point near the stem of the plant 

 at the top. The soil should be patted 

 down firmly on the surface to pitch off 

 the rain and moisture. A forkful of 

 strawy manure thrown on the top of the 

 cone of soil around the plant will help 

 it. Roses grown on their own roots are 

 hardier and less liable to be winter killed 

 than are the budded or grafted plants. 

 Own-root roses are a little, slower at 

 first in giving flowering results, but are 

 much more enduring than worked or 

 budded stock. I planted some own-root 

 roses in 1883 that are still living and do- 

 ing well every year, whilst the grafted 

 bushes planted at the same time have 

 been renewed several times since then. 



240 



The more tender kind of roses, such as 

 hybrid teas, teas, and the polyanth and 

 soupert type of roses, require better pro- 

 tection than the hybrid perpetuals. 

 Tying the top of these in a bunch and 

 thatching them with straw, or first cov- 

 ering the plants with leaves and placing 

 a sugar or flour barrel or some boards 

 over them, makes a good protection. A 

 nail keg would answer for small plants. 

 Holes one inch in diameter here and 

 there should be bored in side of barrel 

 to admit air. A mulching of leaves or 

 strawy manure six or eight inches in 

 depth put on late in November around 

 bush roses also helps to protect them 

 materially. 



The great point in preserving these 

 tender roses is the exclusion of moisture, 

 sun and frost as much as possible, and 

 the admission of air to prevent dampness 

 and mould or fungous diseases. Small 

 tender-flowering shrubs can be treated 

 in the same way as roses during the 

 winter. 



CLIMBING ROSES 



CluiTibing roses, such as Crimson Ram- 

 bler, Baltimore Belle and other tender 

 varieties, should be taken down from 

 the supports they have been growing on 

 and the growth tied or pegged down 

 close to the ground to keep the growth 

 below the snow line as much as possi- 

 ble. Throw some straw or strawy man- 

 ure about three or four inches in depth 

 over the canes or growth so as to cover 

 them about the thickness m ;ntioned. 

 Burlap or the rush matting used as a 

 lining for tea chests are also good ma- 

 terials for wrapping around tender roses 

 or shrubs, instead of using the manure 

 or straw. Avoid putting the covering 

 on too early in the season, as this induces 

 field mice to make a home for the winter 

 in the covering, often resulting in the 

 destruction of the plants from the mice 

 gnawing and eating the growth of the 

 plant. Covering up too early also pre- 

 vents the growth from hardening and 

 ripening, the latter being a very essen- 

 tial point to secure to prevent the winter 

 killing of plant life. About the end of 

 November is usually early enough to 

 cover up climbing roses. 



Remove the winter covering from pro- 

 tected plants early in spring (about the 

 first week in April), before growth com- 

 mences. Choose dull, mild weather for 

 the operation. Remove only a small 

 portion of the covering, leaving a por- 

 tion of the dryest for a time so as to 

 gradually inure the plants to their more 

 exposed conditions. 



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