| Greetings!
One reader inquired when in fall should bulbs be planted. Plant bulbs in the fall starting when nighttime temperatures stay between 40-50°F. But, be sure to plant approximately six weeks before the ground freezes to allow sufficient time for rooting. Bulbs will root best in cool soil and once rooted undergo natural changes that keep them from freezing. Water your bulbs after planting to help them start the rooting process.
Once again our trees, evergreens, and shrubs will enter winter with a rainfall deficit. As of early October, the Twin Cities metro area had a 7" rainfall deficit. Below is an article on how to protect your evergreens from browning during the winter.
Past newsletters are now archived and available for viewing. |
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Protect Evergreens from Harsh Winter Elements |
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 A burlap screen will protect this evergreen from harsh winter winds and bright light.
Many of you may have noticed last spring your evergreens sustained winter damage, browning or bleaching of the needles, myself included. Taking steps now will save your evergreen or reduce needle browning or bleaching.
Knowing the causes of this discoloration will help in taking steps to protect the trees and shrubs. There are four reasons for this happening.
- Winter sun and wind cause excess loss of water through transpiration. The roots are in frozen soil and unable to replace the lost water. This causes desiccation and browning of the plant tissue.
- Bright, sunny winter days cause the plant tissue to warm and in turn initiate cellular activity. Then when the temperatures drop suddenly, as when the sun sets, the foliage temperature drops too and the needles are injured or killed.
- Chlorophyll in the needles is destroyed, during bright, cold days, and is not resynthized when temperatures are below 28 degrees. The result is bleached foliage.
- Cold temperatures early in the fall before plants have hardened off completely or late spring after new growth has occurred can result in injury or death of nonacclimated tissue.
You will typically see damage on the south, southwest and windward sides of the evergreen. In severe cases the entire plant will be affected. Yews, arborvitaes, and hemlocks are most susceptible to winter browning. New plants or plants with late season growth are also susceptible.
To reduce winter injury to evergreens keep them properly watered and plant them in the proper site. You may also need to construct a wind/sun screen. The use of anti-desiccant and anti-transpirant sprays is often recommended to prevent winter burn. Most studies, however, have shown them to be ineffective.
Water throughout the growing season, especially if mother nature isn't doing the job, and into the fall. Never stress plants by under- or overwatering. Decrease watering slightly in September to encourage hardening off, then water thoroughly in October until freeze-up. Watering only in late fall does not help reduce injury. Use an organic mulch under the evergreen to help retain moisture.
Those susceptible yews, arborvitae and hemlocks should not be planted on south or southwest sides of buildings or in exposed sites. Chose the right evergreen for your wind breaks where the site is most definitely exposed to sun and wind. Good choices for wind screens are: black hills spruce, jack pine, mugo pine, red pine, ponderosa pine, Rocky Mountain juniper, savin juniper, eastern redcedar, and douglas fir.
You may also need to build a wind/sun barrier. Use three stakes and burlap (see above photo) or prop pine or Christmas tree boughs against the evergreens for protection and to catch snow.
If an evergreen has suffered winter injury, wait until mid-spring before pruning out injured foliage. Brown foliage is most likely dead and will not green up, but the buds, which are more cold hardy than foliage, will often grow and fill in areas where brown foliage was removed. If the buds have not survived, prune dead branches back to living tissue. Fertilize injured plants in early spring and water them well throughout the season. Provide appropriate protection the following winter.
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| What's Blooming? Ornamental Grasses |
 Ornamental grasses bring a variety of attributes to our landscape gardens. They can bring a vertical element to a bed (think Calamagrotis 'Karl Foerster'). Soften the plant bed's texture and bring motion into the landscape. Many grasses also bring fall and winter interest with their color and seed heads.
Prairie dropseed, Sporobolus heterolepis, is a drought-tolerant native. The fine-textured foliage is emerald green during the summer and turns golden orange in the fall. It grows between 2-2.5 feet tall by 2 feet wide and maintains a mounding habit. Mix prairie dropseed with other plants that tolerate hot dry conditions like alliums.
Little bluestem, Schizachyrium scoparium, is another native to North America. It has an upright habit with blue foliage which turns to a combination of purple, red, and orange in the fall. Little bluestem is an excellent grass for dry soils and difficult sites. Mix little bluestem with 'Purple Dome' aster.
Both grasses are hardy in zone 3 and prefer full sun. |
I welcome your feedback on the newsletter. If there are topics you want to learn more about, please email me at nancy.dahl@integra.net.
Sincerely,
Nancy Thorman Dahl, CLP
Cattail Design LLC
Creative Designs for Land and Lakeshore | |
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Eco-friendly Tip |
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San Francisco City Hall's
lawn has gone organic.
A few simple changes to your lawn care program will not only result in a greener way of maintaining your lawn, it will also save you money and time. Two items many of us would like more of.
I recently heard Paul Tukey, author of The Organic Lawn Care Manual, explain how to have a greener, less weedy lawn without an arsenal of lawn care products. The first thing Tukey tells all of us to do is to get a soil test. Having a healthy soil will result in healthy plants and less problems. Find out what is and isn't in your soil. You may be spending money on products your soil and lawn don't need. A soil test can be done through the University of Minnesota Extension Office.
Simple Changes You Can Make
1. Mow your lawn higher. You will reduce water usage and mow less.
2. Leave your grass clippings when you mow. Lawn clippings will decompose quickly and will supply 50% of your lawns annual fertilizer requirements. You will save time not having to empty the lawn bag and will fertilize less.
3. Aerate to prevent compaction.
For More Information:
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