How should I prepare my hybrid tea roses for winter?
Hybrid tea and other modern, bush-type roses require protection during the winter months. The low temperatures and rapid temperature changes in winter can severely injure and sometimes kill unprotected hybrid tea roses.
Hilling or mounding soil over the base of each plant is an excellent way to protect bush-type roses. Begin by removing fallen leaves and other debris from around each plant. Removal of diseased plant debris will help reduce disease problems next season. Then, loosely tie the canes together with twine to prevent the canes from being whipped by strong winds. Next, cover the bottom 10 to 12 inches of the rose canes with soil. Place additional material, such as straw or leaves, over the mound of soil. A small amount of soil placed over the straw or leaves should hold these materials in place.
Prepare modern roses for winter after plants have been hardened by several nights of temperatures in the low to mid-twenties. Normally, this is early November in northern Iowa, mid-November in central areas, and late November in southern counties
Is it necessary to mulch strawberries?
Strawberries should be mulched in fall to prevent winter injury. Low temperatures and repeated freezing and thawing of the soil through the winter months are the main threats to the strawberry plants. Temperatures below +20 degrees Fahrenheit may kill flower buds and damage the roots and crowns of unmulched plants. Repeated freezing and thawing of the soil can heave plants out of the soil, severely damaging or destroying the plants.
Excellent mulching materials include clean, weed-free straw and chopped cornstalks. Apply 4 to 6 inches of material. After settling, the depth of the mulch should be approximately 2 to 4 inches.
Allow the strawberry plants to harden or acclimate to the cool fall temperatures before mulching the bed. In northern Iowa, strawberry plantings are normally mulched in late October to early November. Gardeners in central and southern Iowa should mulch their strawberries in early to mid-November and mid- to late November, respectively.
When should I harvest my parsnips?
Parsnips should be harvested in late fall after exposure to several light freezes. The low temperatures convert starches to sugars, improving the parsnip’s sweet, nut-like flavor. After harvest, trim off the foliage one-half inch above the roots and store the parsnips at a temperature of 32 degrees F and relative humidity of 95 to 98 percent.
Gardeners also can leave a portion of the crop in the ground over winter. After several light freezes, cover the parsnips with 3 to 5 inches of soil. Harvest the remaining crop in early spring before growth resumes.
What do I do about boxelder bugs?
Boxelder bugs feed on a variety of trees and plants throughout the summer, including the boxelder tree. In the fall weather changes trigger them to aggregate on southern sides of trees, rocks and homes. From there they find cracks and crevices to overwinter. They can be a nuisance if they have gathered on your home. The first thing to do is to seal up cracks, especially along the foundation. Also, make sure there is good weather stripping installed around doors and windows. Large masses of boxelder bugs gathered on houses can be killed with a soapy water spray.
-30-