Bright colorful phlox delight the gardener's eye throughout the summer. Many flower growers ask themselves questions about what should be the preparation of phloxes for winter, how to protect the plant from frost. Long flowering does not particularly help the flower to successfully harvest nutrients for the cold season. Experienced summer residents suggest what and how to do.
When to prune
Many perennial plants, including various phloxes, have a rather tender aerial part, which dies off every year when the first cold weather sets in. To determine the optimal pruning time for this flower, you need to find out which variety it belongs to - early flowering or late flowering. How to prepare phloxes, which are early varieties, for winter? Since the inflorescences of these varieties wither already in August, pruning is scheduled for the end of this month or the beginning of the next. All late types of phloxes lose their color only at the end of September, therefore, dead shoots are removed only in early to mid-October. The main rule: we cut off everything superfluous before the onset of frost, otherwise you can lose completely he althy phloxes. Preparation for winter must be carried out without fail, and it is worth using proven methods and tools.
Phlox cutting technology
The entire ground part of the plant is removed using an ordinary garden pruner, while leaving small "stumps" at a level of 5-10 cm from the ground. Such prunings should be saved, since they contain about 3 renewal buds. It is from them in early spring that the plant will throw out new shoots. Preparing phlox for winter in this way allows you to find out where the perennials were planted, and not accidentally dig them up along with ordinary beds.
Steps of sheltering variegated flowers
If next winter promises to be cold, even frost-resistant varieties should be prepared in advance. To do this, the soil and the base of the perennial are treated with fungicides. This procedure is carried out only on dry sunny days. Further, the preparation of phloxes for winter requires waiting two weeks, and then adding one spoonful of superphosphate and a little wood ash under each bush. This stage will ensure lush flowering in the new season and violent growth of shoots. From above, the soil is mulched with any convenient material: pine or spruce needles, moss or simple sawdust. But the best option, according to professional gardeners, is a mixture of peat and high-quality humus. The top of such a mound is covered with spruce branches or cut leaves so that the snow lingers and a suitable temperature is maintained due to the slow decay of such mulch.
As soon asthe preparation of phloxes for winter will be over, you can move on to other garden matters, leaving the perennials alone until spring. With the very first warm rays of the sun in the new year, all structures are dismantled to prevent insects and diseases from destroying the young shoots of phlox. Attention: do not cover this flower with plastic film, because of it the plant may rot or get wet. And this can also lead to decay and death.
