To clean up the flower beds or not?
Not, because:
- leaving the decomposing plants forms an airy mulch for the plant crowns beneath acting as winter protection and preventing snow compaction
- many plants add architectural quality to the garden through the winter especially when covered with snow
- those decomposing plants provide shelter for many pupating beneficial insects
- seeds provide food for the birds
Tender Rhizomes, Corms and Tubers
Gladioli, Dahlias, Begonias etc.
Dig them up and store in peat moss, sawdust, vermiculite or other mulch medium until spring. Store in a cool dark place until spring.
Borderline Hardy Shrubs
Azaleas, some Hydrangeas, or newly planted shrubs can be wrapped in remay or burlap. I like to add a stake before wrapping to help hold up the tent and prevent a heavy load of wet snow flattening the package. A circle of chicken wire or other also works well before adding the burlap or remay.
Water deeply before freeze up, by laying a slow running hose on the roots.
A piece of rebar or strong dowel can be pushed into the soil to actually get an idea of how deep the water has reached. Trees and shrubs need good deep watering , more than 12 inches.
Vegetable Beds
It only makes sense to me to remove mildewy zucchini plants, peas beans and all the foliage that is no longer productive. This is in contrast to the best way to deal with flower borders. If you don’t have some mildew by the end of summer lucky you. All of this can go into the compost and if you don’t have a compost yet, just take a length of wire fencing and wrap it into a circle. By spring the pile of vegetation will have shrunk and be decomposing nicely.
A gentle clean-up of chick weed and other weeds is a good idea to get rid of seeds but the soil can be left with all its microorganisms until spring.
Roses
Hybrid Tea Roses and any grafted roses benefit from mulch being applied at the soil level around the graft and over the first 2-3″ or so of woody matter. Use straw, sawdust, potting soil, old carpet, whatever works for you but it is important to cover the grafted area, which shows as a bump at ground level or just below.
Morden Roses, old species roses should be fine but it never hurts to add a little extra soil or mulch around the crown.
Water deeply before freeze up.
If you have a tender climber of grafted standard, dig a trench and lay the branches or the whole rose down and cover with soil or a good layer of mulch. This is no guarantee but you might be lucky.
Do not put plastic over the roses. They need to breathe and receive moisture.
Leaves
Those leaves that your trees and plants have worked all summer to produce are still full of many nutrients. They make wonderful compost. Even if they can be just piled up on the empty vegetable beds or put into the compost of course, by spring they will have reduced in bulk and be decomposing. If you must remove them, empty the bags into the garden waste at the Recycle Depot rather than leave them in plastic where those nutrients are all locked up.
Geraniums
Geraniums and many tender perennial bedding plants can be over wintered in various ways.
Bring them in the house. It is important not to bring pests into the house with your potted plants so clean them up, cut them back and if unsure spray with Safers Soap or favoured insecticide. Depending on the plants needs, place in an appropriate window.
Take Cuttings; Geraniums especially are easy to root as is basil, mint and many other plants. Experiment. Cut a stem and strip off the lower leaves. Dip in rooting hormone if you wish but it is frequently not necessary. Mint and Basil will grow roots in a few days. Then pot them up and enjoy their growth through the winter. Small plants do not take up much space.
Geraniums can be removed from their pots, soil and debris removed as much as possible from the roots and then stored, upside down in a thick grocery type paper bag folded over. It is important to keep in a cool dry place to avoid mould. It is worth checking them after a few weeks to remove leaves that have fallen off. They need to be kept in a cool dark place .
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