Phlox - care in the fall and preparation for winter: pruning and shelter
And now the autumn time has come, which means it is time to prepare perennials for winter. Despite the fact that phlox are quite unpretentious flowers, they still need some autumn care and preparation for winter.
Well, then let's talk about what needs to be done with phlox in autumn so that they bloom beautifully again next year.
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Features of phlox care in autumn and preparation for winter: main activities
In order for the plant to please you with lush flowering in the coming season, it needs to devote a little time and effort. So, autumn phlox care includes the following activities:
- in the summer, pruning is carried out after flowering;
- pruning for the winter;
- top dressing with phosphorus-potassium fertilizer;
- weeding;
- mulching or shelter for the winter.
Also in autumn you can divide and transplant phlox to a new place in the garden (it is recommended to do this every 4-5 years).
Video: phlox transplant in autumn
Autumn pruning phlox
Pruning in summer after flowering
Even in summer, some time after flowering, so that the plant does not waste extra energy on ripening the seeds, you need to remove faded peduncles at a distance of 50-60 cm from the ground, leaving most of the green mass.
Interesting! It is believed that if you break off the top of a dry flower, then later it will bloom with lateral flowers, i.e. phloxes will be able to bloom 2 times (albeit not as magnificently as the first time).
On the other hand, pruning the tops, which stimulates the growth of side shoots and subsequent flowering, will also take a lot of energy from the plant, which would be better spent preparing for wintering. Therefore, it is advisable to hold this event only if you have a long enough summer.
Why prune phlox for the winter
Autumn pruning of phlox, like many other perennials, is carried out in order to get rid of all kinds of problems that may appear in the future, namely for the prevention of fungal diseases and protection against insect pests (i.e., so that various pathogens and pest larvae do not winter on the bushes).
Advice! Accordingly, all the trimmed overhead part must be removed from the site or burned, and not thrown onto the compost heap.
On the other hand, if your phloxes have never been sick, there are no signs of disease and pest, then why not use their aboveground part as a natural mulch to cover the bushes themselves, or still send it to the compost heap.
Video: trimming phlox
When to prune phlox in the fall: optimal timing
According to most gardeners, phlox pruning for the winter should be done in late autumn, preferably before the onset of stable frosts, i.e. not earlier than the end of September-beginning of October (for the Middle Lane) - beginning of November (relevant for warmer regions).
Important! Naturally, phlox pruning for the winter is carried out after the bush has completely bloomed, turns yellow and dries up, i.e. the nutrients from the aboveground part will completely transfer to the underground (to the roots).
Video: when and how to cut phlox for the winter
How to properly prune phlox for the winter
It's simple: phloxes are cut in the fall right at ground level, trying not to leave any stumps (similar to the same herbaceous peonies).
Interesting! There is a rather controversial opinion that 5-10 centimeter stumps should be left in order for the snow to better hold and linger over the bushes in winter.
However, in practice, no special effect is observed from this, but next spring the sticking out "sticks" will only interfere with you (after all, they will have to be removed in any case) when new shoots begin to appear from the ground.
Leaving after pruning - autumn feeding and weeding
Further, after pruning (although it is possible before it, i.e. after summer pruning after flowering), it is highly recommended to feed phlox with autumn fertilizer, in other words, add a little under the bush phosphoric and potash fertilizers. For example, it could be superphosphate and potassium sulfate or wood ash (2-3 tbsp. Spoons).
And just before the phlox shelter for the winter, you should get rid of the weeds by weeding.
Shelter phlox for the winter
Do I need to cover phloxes for the winter
Phlox is a fairly frost-hardy culture that can winter without shelter, especially growing in a relatively mild continental climate.
But in the zone of a sharply continental climate (in Siberia, in the same Irkutsk), some perennial flowers, including phlox, are better to dig up and send to the basement for the winter.
The fact is that in such conditions the plants freeze out not in winter, when they are completely covered with snow, but in spring (in March) or autumn (November), when there is no snow and the temperature drops below -15 degrees.
In addition, in phlox, the root system does not grow down, but up, which is why they freeze out. In other words, periodic (every 4-5 years) digging out bushes and replanting them to a great depth will save your phloxes from freezing.
Video: digging phlox for the winter in the basement
The author of the previous video also offers a rather interesting way to preserve phloxes in the open field, but this time without transferring them to the basement, and through them digging (+ division) and a deeper fit.
Note! Such transplant should be performed in September, when the processes of sap flow are still going on in the plants, because the bushes should have time to take root in a new place.
Video: how to prepare phloxes for wintering in the open field
How to properly cover phlox for the winter
If you want to slightly insulate your phlox, in order to surely protect the growth points (buds) and roots close to the surface of the earth from freezing, then you can slightly mulch them, lightly (literally 3-5 cm) sprinkle them on top with peat, compost or humus ...
However! Young bushes (in which the buds are deep) should not be covered with garden soil, they can simply rot and rot (under a thick layer of earth).
To make the snow linger longer over the bush, it is good to put spruce branches (spruce branches) on top (you can directly on the mulch).
Important! Do not cover phlox under any circumstances. moisture and airtight materials (with the same film).
AND don't forget to take shelter off in springas soon as the ground warms up enough and the weather stabilizes.
Thus, proper autumn care of phlox is the key to successful wintering and amazing beauty of these wonderful flowering perennials in the coming season.