When November rolls around and all the leaves fall from the trees, the question becomes, “What can I do to make my yard go to sleep?” always arises. The answer is simple: not really. All established plants are considered mature and will die on their own.
As you can see, I used the word "installed". An exception may be newly planted perennials. If you take advantage of sales and purchases of perennials at garden centers, they may need extra protection as they may not be able to establish roots this fall. Without roots, plants can be pushed out of the ground, leaving the roots exposed as the ground freezes and thaws in the winter. To prevent this from happening, you can protect it with an additional layer of mulch. Wait until the ground freezes. The purpose of mulch is to soften cold soil, not to protect it from the cold.
If you have old fashioned roses such as hybrid teas, floribundas or climbing roses, you can also cover them for the winter. This is because this type of rose is the result of grafting. The beautiful rose you purchased was grafted onto a rosehip rootstock. Grafting allows roses to survive the winter, but still requires help.
The grafted part is above ground and susceptible to frost at very low temperatures. The tips can be protected by adding mulch around the base of the rose. As with perennials, you will have to wait until the frost has passed and the soil has cooled.
Shrub roses, such as Knock Out and Drift roses, do not require mulch. Most of them grow from their own roots and are very strong.
When should roses be pruned?
Wait until spring to prune your roses. Roses, with the exception of grapevines, require heavy pruning each year. You'll want to leave the stems tall and trim them back in the spring when the leaf buds begin to grow. Because if it is damaged in winter, the damage will start from the tip of the stem. If the stick is four feet long and one of the leg appendages is damaged, you still have three healthy legs. But if you prune them now, you won't have any healthy plants left in the spring.
Climbing plants should wait until spring and only prune damaged plants if they have enough room to grow. Climbing plants bloom best on old growth. The more often you let it sit, the more abundant your flowers will be.
This time of year, you might want to ditch the garden shears. You also don't want to trim bushes or trees that bloom in the spring. This plant began to bloom the following season. Prune now and you will lose the flowers.
You'll also want to stop trimming any greenery. This is because pruning stimulates growth. If you encourage new growth in evergreens, the new shoots will be susceptible to damage from freezing temperatures.
Collect those leaves!
I want to encourage you to spend some time with the leaves and remove as many as you can this fall. A thick layer of leaves on your lawn can damage the grass underneath if left for long periods of time. This may only take a few weeks.
I also recommend removing leaves from flower beds. They can provide an extra layer of winter protection while keeping excess moisture around plants and in the soil. Disease spores can also overwinter on fallen leaves. Clean up your beds now so you can have a fresh start next spring.
This article originally appeared in the Cincinnati Enquirer: Stay away from scissors. Let your plants sleep peacefully
