Should I Mulch in Fall to Protect Perennials for Winter?

There is no doubt that mulching builds soil , reduce the pauperization to water , and helps verify pot . But what does it do to protect plants from the cold ? In many climate , perennials will hold up just all right without any protection . In moth-eaten areas , Charles Percy Snow is an first-class insulator ; it continue industrial plant underground at a temperature around freeze and protects them from the forged of winter conditions . If we could be sure that there would be a good layer of snow throughout wintertime , our garden would n’t see many problem at all . Without C. P. Snow or other mulch in tough wintertime months , however , industrial plant may sustain heaving and freezing , which can damage their root systems .

The best prison term to apply winter mulch is just after the first laborious frost . By putting mulch down at this time , you will facilitate steady the temperature of the land the right way around freezing . Applying mulch too soon may delay freezing and encourage panting and thawing . Applying it too late may induce the roots of plants to receive temperatures below that which they can address .

Pine bark or Sir Henry Joseph Wood chips are the practiced mulches ; they enrich soil as they degrade . A level of mulch about 4 to 6 inches deep over the plant works well . Most perennials will pop up through the mulch in spring . If the plants are young , small , or fresh establish in fall , you may want to clear some of the mulch in springiness so that the works can egress without difficulty through the wintertime aegis .

—Jeff Gillman , author ofThe Truth about Organic Gardening , is an associate prof of horticulture at the University of Minnesota in St. Paul .

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