![]() The first two cultivars listed are the hardiest. The cultivars 'Purpurescens,' 'Silberfeder' (Silverfeather), 'Autumn Light,' 'Malepartus' and 'Graziella' are just some of the miscanthus available. Cultivars of Miscanthus sinensis are some of the best grasses for winter interest. Within this genus there are several species and many named cultivars. Q Which ornamental grasses have the showiest seed heads during the winter?ĪMost varieties of miscanthus (Miscanthus sp.) grass have fluffy plumes of seeds that stay on the plant most of the winter. Many gardeners remember the early April temperature plunge several years ago, when many emerging tulips and other bulbs were frozen to the ground. If these plants come up too early, a late cold snap can freeze them. Remember that mulch also keeps the ground cool in the early spring this is a good thing, especially for bulbs and early-emerging perennials. Of course, if we've already had weeks of subzero temperatures and no snow cover, the damage may already have been done. ![]() A nice way to recycle the Christmas tree is to cut off branches and use those to cover a bulb or perennial bed. If you have lavender plants, for example, and you opt to mulch them instead of letting them tough it out, you can still run out and pile some straw around them. You can add mulch to garden beds any time during the winter. The bulbs need foliage to produce food reserves during the growing season, which is why you never should cut back bulb foliage when it's still green. Frozen foliage won't kill the bulb, but it could reduce the bulb's food reserves, since it will have to produce more foliage in the spring. Is this a good idea? Can bulbs be damaged by having leaves frozen?ĪWhile many bulbs are hardy enough to make it through our winters without mulch, I think its a good idea to cover any of those that started sprouting in this oddly warm early winter. I was worried about the foliage freezing so I covered it with straw. Q Some of my crocus and squill started sending up leaves in the warm weather early this month. If your soil is on the high pH side, use an acid fertilizer and mulch heavily with pine needles and shredded oak leaves, both of which help acidify the soil. White pines can develop iron chlorosis (which shows as yellowed foliage) in high pH (above 7.0) soils. Have your soil tested to find out if fertilizer is needed often there is plenty of phosphorus and potassium, and all that's needed is nitrogen. A tree that is lacking nitrogen may have yellowish foliage. Most trees in home landscapes benefit from a yearly application of fertilizer. Also check for trunk injuries and insect or disease symptoms. Planting too deeply reduces the amount of air reaching the roots, which in turn can kill roots and eventually the whole tree. Also check to see if the tree is planted too deeply you should be able to see the roots starting to flare out just at the soil line. Most evergreens require well-drained soil, although arborvitae is an exception. Yellowing foliage often indicates root problems, usually overly wet soil. If a yellowed evergreen fails to regain a green color in the spring, or if an evergreen starts turning yellow during the growing season, problems may be brewing. This pine has long, thin needles in bunches of five and looks similar to white pine. Korean pine (Pinus koraiensis), while not widely available, is gaining popularity in part because most specimens retain a good blue-green color through the winter. Unfortunately, very few white pines have been selected for good foliar color and resistance to winter discoloration. There are many arborvitae cultivars so selected. The needle color is determined by genetics, sort of like eye color among humans.Īmong these evergreens, a number of cultivars have been selected for good foliage color and resistance to winter discoloration. However, if an individual tree tends to yellow, it seems to do so consistently from year to year. The degree of yellowing in the winter also varies greatly. Summer needle color among white pines can vary from olive green to silvery blue-green. ![]() There seems to be quite a bit of variability in needle color among individual specimens of any of these evergreens. Most trees that discolor in winter recover a more normal green color in the spring. Some other evergreens that also tend to show winter discoloration include red or Norway pine (Pinus resinosa), Jack pine (Pinus banksiana) and arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis). Is it normal for white pines to turn yellow? Does the tree need fertilizer?ĪThe needles of some white pines (Pinus strobus) do develop a rather unattractive yellowish or olive green color in the winter. ![]() It has not turned as yellow so far this year, perhaps because of the milder weather. Q The large white pine in our yard tends to turn yellowish every winter.
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