Winter Gardening in Bucks County

I look forward each day during the winter. To some, lamenting the past days of fall with its bright foliage in the landscape, and feeling down that the dull days of winter are here. 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 here in Bucks County. 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 labor 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 . Varmint 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 varmints. 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 varmint. Viburnums are the most attractive, versatile, adaptable shrubs for any landscape. They can be used as hedges or screens and in mixed perennial/shrub borders. They can also stand alone as specimen plants. They usually take the form of shrubs, but some species can become small ornamental 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 leather leaf 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. Their fibrous root system makes them transplant easily. In your search for a good, hardy shrub with winter interest consider the Viburnum 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 during 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. You can see more out plants at the following web site HTTP://www.seedlingsrus.com