Winter Gardening Articles

It’s that time of year again when the cold is settling in all around us. Having your car covered in snow is bad, so we can only imagine the horrible impact that the snow is having on the rose gardens outside. Being able to bring everything inside would be ideal, but most of our beautiful roses are so massive and grounded that it just wouldn’t be feasible to even try to uproot them all.

If you live where winter is cold, with temperatures below freezing, it is easy to define what winter means. However, if you live in a warmer part of the country, how do you define winter when it comes to perennials? Basically, winter in your area of the country is whenever your perennials go dormant. This can happen anywhere from early September in the north to late December in the south. It is the cold that induces the perennial to go dormant.

See also: Before the first freeze Sometimes it’s hard to imagine months ahead what we want our spring garden and yard to look like. Yet, now is the time to start thinking about planting new bulbs for next spring. You must plant the spring-blooming bulbs several weeks before the first freeze. If you live in the south, in zone 9, you may even need to chill your bulbs for several weeks before planting.