2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
With the end of summer, the chores of gardeners do not end. Asters and chrysanthemums also delight with their multicolored colors, powerful paniculate inflorescences of Solidago (Goldenrod) bushes and “golden balls” of Rudbeckia decorate the garden, “glasses” of funnel-shaped colchicum (colchicum) decorate the black soil, but most of the plants have already completed their mission to decorate our world. It's time to clean up the flower beds and prepare the plants for winter
Autumn pruning
Carrying out the autumn pruning of plants, we thereby prepare their successful start in the spring, stimulating the awakening of the buds of renewal after hibernation.
At a distance of 5-7 cm from the ground, we cut off the stems of such perennials as: heliopsis, delphiniums, peonies, yarrow, phlox. If the cut stems are healthy and have not harbored pests, we chop them up and use them right there as mulch.
Do not prune plants that retain their decorative appearance even on winter days. Such plants include, for example, cereals, which have recently gained popularity among gardeners. You can admire them until the arrival of spring. And the birds will have something to eat in the cold. In addition, dry leaves and stems will protect the roots from freezing.
Digging tubers
Some perennials are not afraid of the winter cold. Their bulbs and rhizomes calmly overwinter in the ground, even if you have not taken care of their insulation. These are flowers such as hyacinths, lilies, daffodils, tulips.
But acidantera, galtonia, dahlias, gladioli, tuberous begonia, cannes, crocosmia may not withstand winter stresses. Therefore, they have to be dug up and stored in a cool room until spring.
After the first frost, when the dahlia leaves turn black from the cold, gardeners dig up root tubers. The stems of the plant are cut at a height of 5-7 cm from the ground. But pulling the tubers according to the principle of a grandfather's turnip is not worth it, since they can come off the stalk. We arm ourselves with a garden pitchfork and carefully pry on the root tubers. Then, during the day we dry them in the open air, hanging them "upside down" together with the adhered earth.
For those who do not keep a gardener's diary, it will be difficult to determine the time of extraction of gladioli corms, since experts recommend digging them out 45-50 days after the beginning of flowering. The stems of gladioli are cut, leaving small stumps. This is followed by continuous drying. First, the corms are dried for several days in a well-ventilated barn or under a canopy. Then, having cleared them of dried earth, they are dried in a room for at least another month at a temperature of at least 20 degrees Celsius. Only after that they are placed in a cool (3-5 degrees Celsius) dark place for storage, after having cleaned them.
Dry within a week: in a cool room - tuberous begonia; at plus 20 degrees - acidander; at plus 15 degrees - crocosmia.
Protecting tulips from mice
Mice and water rats love to feast on tulip and lily bulbs in winter, which are rich in nutrients. So that the black earth does not meet you in the spring where you were waiting for bright tulips, you need to take care of the safety of the bulbs in the fall.
One of the methods of protecting the bulbs from rodents is to use special plastic baskets when planting, which are sold in gardening stores. Some cover the basket of onions with another, turned upside down. But, if you are late in the spring with your arrival at the dacha, the bulbs will not be able to germinate through the upper protection.
More reliable protection will be provided by baskets made of fine-mesh metal mesh, which can be purchased at building materials stores. A shape of the desired size is cut from a piece of mesh. It is better to make a basket for 10-20 bulbs so that you can arrange the plants in groups according to varieties. The side walls of the cut shape are folded over and the corners are fixed with wire.
The basket is buried in the soil so that its upper edge is just below the soil level. Then the rodents will not be able to get close to the bulbs from the side. The layer of soil above the bulbs is equal to twice the height of the bulbs. Pour a couple of centimeters of sand at the bottom of the basket to prevent stagnation of water under the roots of the bulbs.
Note: in the photo Crocosmia.
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