I have a new daylily bed and also a new area of perennials including some new hosta purchases that my kids have named Mom's Park. :) I hope all will come back in the Spring.

My question is: what would your recommendation be for a mulching medium to weather the winter and prevent weed germination? DH is in the process of taking down an old barn and there is lots of aged oatstraw available to use or I also have some bags of pine bark mulch. Your insight is greatly appreciated!

Dee

I also know that mulch can hold moisture close to the crowns of plants and actually help them rot instead of protect them.

My philosphy is this -- if a plant can't live here on its own, then I'll replace it next year. Only the fancy roses get winter protection…
…except that we don't 'clean up' our gardens by removing every last leaf and twig in November. Leaves that are caught among the perennials are natural, and, as a lazy gardener, if Mother Nature does it, then I allow it, too.

So anyway, what I'm getting at is that IF your only concern is overwinter protection, you don't need to mulch (cause those plants shouldn't require overwinter protection). But mulching still will do a lot for ya, so if I were you I'd do it anyway.

One trick I've heard to keep weeds down is to lay down some newspaper on the ground before you mulch...

I try to clear the leaf mulch away from the new growth in spring. It's a little more work... But, I paid money for these plants and just letting the survial of the fittest dictate what lives or dies seems less than frugal...lol

I'll also be collecting bags of leaves from the neighbors for more leaf mulch and my compost pile.

Pete in I.F.

I have another question for those more experienced than I but will ask it as a new post.

Thanks again!

Dee

Diann
IA Z5a