winterizing

I have several Lantana that grew to be hugh almost like a shub this year. It was their second year of being planted. They were lovely. I just let them die out naturally last year and come spring, broke off to the ground and they came back really nicely. I am wondering, when do I need to cut them back.

I need to know the same concerning my cannas as well.

We have had 2 really good frost here in Middle Tennessee (Nashville), but I don't want to keep them from coming back.

Thanks,
Brenda

I just leave mine till spring. When I know that we are not going to have anymore frost. Then I cut back the dried up branches and leafs. Hope this helps. Binky :))))

Brenda, I'm really surprised you were able to overwinter Lantana in middle Tennessee. It's not reliably hardy here, so you may have it in a sheltered spot (and our last two winters were pretty mild.) Frm what I've read, you shouldn't cut it back in the fall, as the stems are hollow and when moisture gets down in them, it will likely freeze and kill the plant. Then again, if we get the winter the meteorologists are predicting we're supposed to get, it may be a moot point anyway :-(

Ditto for the cannas. Their overwintering survival depends on two factors: one is making sure they're adequately mulched (frozen soil will likely kill them) and having them in a well-drained spot. They're as likely to die from root rot as freezing temps around here.

There are a couple of techniques for extending winter cold-hardiness that I have noticed used in zones colder than yours, but that might enable gardeners in most zones to grow whatever needs the next warmer zone or two for winter survival.

Patrick Lima wrote about one technique in one of the most wonderfully informative, dream-inspiring, beautifully written perenial flower garden books I have ever read. I just checked the online local library catalog, and it is no longer available there, so I can only urge you to chase it down - Harrowsmith had something to do with this book as well as with its sequel.

Back to the subject. Waiting until after the ground surface was consistently frozen for a day or few, he'd mulch his tender whatever a foot or so deep, and then when spring temperatures warmed up sufficiently, he would, little by little, remove the mulch.

A little south of us in Washington, DC, the National Arboretum has been using the mulch technique also on its tender tea roses, but in addition, they place a cone made of some breath-able type of fabric - maybe woven polyethylene often used for row covers - over each rose with a flap on top that they can open when winter temperatures warm up.

Possibly they could also spray those tender rose canes (or other iffy woody plant) with one of those anti-dessicant sprays that help woody tissues not to dry out over winter.

Moving along to my garden SW of Baltimore - my neighbor has very kindly been bestowing these monster pickle jars on me over past years. I have four now. Very soon, hopefully tomorrow, I am going to put one each over a fuchsia (came to me unlabeled except for the word "plant" - @!* those chain stores), a Verbena bonariensis and a rosemary also not labeled by ye chaine store, all of which only need one or two zones warmer than ours.

If I had a silvery, woolly leaved teucrium, it would also get a pickle jar. In addition to ameliorating cold-hardiness, the jars also shelter the plants from being covered up in ice and snow - or from having water getting into their stems and freezing, as Terry wrote above. Ice and snow are great mulches for plants whose tops die back, but certain death to mediterranean-type of plants who prefer to keep their tops on through winter.

I hope this adds to adventures in your gardens. I would love to hear from others as to which plants they have sucessfully wintered over with these and any techniques they may know of. Thanks for letting me prattle on.