For me I
have grown to appreciate each day and look forward to interests
in landscapes that are there knowing that many dazzling displays
can be found by careful observation. The days are short and the
nights are long. Yet growing plants and enjoying plants are year
round activities that bring many quality hours of enjoyment.
Watering plants can be be on your list of things to do. Make it a
point to get out and check on your plants. The ground may not be frozen
and plants still use water. If the ground is not frozen you can still
water if the ground will accept the water. Most plants are dormant so
the amount of watering is not as high as in the hotter seasons.
Evergreens lose water through their needles in the winter. So if one
keeps watering as long as possible into the winter, seedlings and plants
will suffer less stress. Winter drying of evergreens is a major stress
factor in overwintering.
Snow and ice on your plants can be problematic. Tall thin plants
are not as sturdy a plant. They tend to bend under snow loads and may
require staking later to train them strait. If your small plants have a
light amount of snow covering them you may ease the snow burden by
lightly sweeping the snow with a broom. Don't shake them, they are like
babies ... they get shaken baby syndrome. If snow or ice is frozen to
the branches, allow it to melt rather than attempting to correct. If any
branches are broken, you probably don't need to do anything unless there
is a split in the trunk. If the breakage of the plant is sever, the
seedling or liner should be discarded. The labour to correct is not
worth the value of the plant. Also a poor quality seedling will probably
be a poor quality mature plant. There is a market for such plants
however, we have had many customers who want, " Charley Brown Trees" or
stunted trees for unusual customer needs.
Warm spells in the winter occur. Suddenly, there can be days of
warmer temperatures. This should not be a problem. When a warm spell
occurs, get out and use some shoe leather and wear out those leather
gloves. Its a great to have a break in mid winter and you can prepare
for spring. If you have covering on or over the plants, you may need to
ventilate. We normally open the doors to our greenhouses and this is
usually all that is necessary. Cold frame temps may rise so ventilation
will be helpful. Close up as nightfall arrives as the temperature will
fall. Note that when sunlight intensity is high, plant tissues become
active. Water loss at this time can't be replaced if the root are
frozen. This is called plant desiccation. Also if there many freeze-thaw
cycles, the crown of the plant will be heaved up exposing the roots.
Root systems have a lower tolerance to temperature extremes and can
killed by freezing low temperatures. A common way to prevent desiccation
is to screen plants in exposed areas with Burlap .
Pest control is important in the winter. Mice and rabbits feed
constantly . Their teeth grow constantly and they love to chew on tender
plants. We spread rat and mice bait about every two to threes weeks as
long as we see it being consumed. Try and place the baits in a place
where its easy to monitor, dry, and accessible only to the varmits. When
the snow gets deep mice will feed up higher on the plants. They don't
like to dig in the snow for food. They take the easy to reach food
first. Thus tracks in the snow are an important sign to watch for. Mouse
damage is usually not correctable. You may not see root feeding damage
to stock till spring, so over baiting is the best solution. Care should
be taken that the baits are only available to the target varmit. I
always enjoy viburnums on walks during the winter. I feel that the
Viburnums are an attractive, versatile, adaptable shrubs for any
landscape. I especially like them used as hedges or screens and in mixed
perennial shrub borders. They also stand alone as specimen plants. They
usually are in the form of shrubs, but some species can become small
trees. They range in size from the Dwarf American Cranberry bush at 2
feet tall by 2 feet wide, to the Siebold at over 15 feet tall.
We
feel that Viburnums are plants that have great winter interest. All
Viburnums have white to pink flowers in the spring. The foliage is
large, attractive and often textured leaves. Some viburnums have
fragrant flowers that are produced in snowball shaped clusters in April.
Their flower clusters can consist of pink buds, which develop into white
flowers. Some fruits are red and turn black with age usually bitter
tasting. Leaves can be glossy, dark green and turn a burgundy color in
the fall. Midsummer berries are an important food source for birds.
Viburnums have colorful red to purple leaves. Some viburnums can become
medium-size trees, especially if they are pruned. Viburnums excel as
specimen plants or as anchors in mixed borders. You won't find a more
versatile group of shrubs for hedges or for massing in groups, since
viburnums hold their own in every season. Some viburnums, such as Prague
viburnum 'Pragense', are evergreen. Others, such as leatherleaf viburnum,
are semi-evergreen in colder climates, losing their leaves when
temperatures dip below 10 degrees.
The great feature of Viburnums is that they are adaptable. While they
would like full sun and moderately watered, well-drained rich soils,
they will grow very well in part shade, and in clay soils. Diseases and
pests rarely attack them and they don't tend to have to be spayed. My
kids have run over them with brush hogs and they survived. We even sold
these plants for a premium. They were better looking than the ones we
manually trimmed. Seems you really need to give them a good close hard
pruning once in while. Their fibrous root system makes them transplant
easily.
In
your search for a good, hardy shrub with winter interest consider the
Viburnums family.
Viburnums have long been popular garden plants, known for their white,
sometimes fragrant spring flowers, and their fall color. But it's the
Asian viburnums that have so far been most noteworthy. Perhaps the most
liked viburnums are the Burkwood viburnum (Viburnum x burkwoodii), and
the Korean spice viburnum (V. carlesii), both of which fill your
landscape with pleasant odors in the spring. Also popular is the
doublefile viburnum (V. plicatum f. tomentosum), valued for its layered
habit, fall foliage, and clusters of red fruits. Viburnum acerifolium
(Maple-leafed viburnum) Although I wouldn't plant a landscape without
viburnums, I have a special fondness for several of our native
viburnums. They may not provide the great flower fragrance of their
Asian counterparts, but I love them not only for their rich fall colors
,but for that fact they help attract and feed so many of our wild birds
that liven up our landscape durring the long winter. In addition,
several are great for urban conditions. They require only corrective
pruning, and seldom commonly suffer from pests or diseases. I would be
hard pressed to say which viburnum I would choose if I could only have
one.
Viburnums are moist woodland plants. In nature they are found
along steam banks from Long Island to Florida. When you come to our 5275
West Swamp Rd. location ask us to show some in their native habitat that
we found along our stream bank. These plants perform well under normal
landscape conditions. I especially like the floral display in the spring
and these viburnums that bear fruit in the fall. Winterthur has great
red leaves and abundant fruit in the fall. This cultivar needs a cross
pollinator such as viburnum nudum. If you want things to do in the
winter this is when I cut back our viburnums. Pressing issues of the
other seasons always leaves my viburnums to stand alone untouched. It is
mid winter and I always enjoy trimming back these plants then. I see all
the nests that the birds have built and can work without disturbing
their families. It seems to me that it is easier to cut back and trim
now for I always feel bad in the summer when I trim out green foliage.
When trimming foliage I always guilty cutting greens off of the plants.
Wintertime frees me from those demons.
