Do I have to cut off the host for the winter? Autumn care of a plant
Perennial plants from the family of asparagus,called hosts, are very often used to decorate household plots. These leaf-decorative plants perfectly match with the flowers and create excellent compositions. When caring for planting, gardeners are wondering whether it is necessary to clip the host for winter. The answer to it will be devoted to the article.
Attractiveness and diversity
Hosts like gardeners their elegance andsplendor. These plants are multifaceted, so it's easy to choose the right variety for any garden composition. They impress with the attractiveness of their leaves, the color and shape of which depends on the variety of the host. Flowers can be bluish, violet, white, pinkish. They are very beautiful, assembled in a socket.
The host leaves are colored in different colors - fromBlue-gray to bright yellow. Unfortunately, the color of the leaves changes with the onset of frost. With the advent of cold weather, splendid spreading plants begin to wither. Do you need to trim the leaves of the hosts for the winter?
Before answering this question, let us consider what measures should be taken in the fall in the framework of plant care.
Autumn work
Is the host circumcised for the winter, and what activities are necessary in preparing the plants for the cold?
Culture is unpretentious and does not require complexcareful care for themselves. However, do not think that these plantations can not be ignored. Of course, the plant feels great on sunny and dark places, it does not need frequent watering and fertilizers. But preparation for winter frosts is necessary, especially when it comes to the average climatic zone of Russia.
Do I have to cut off the host for the winter? The flower growers answer this question in the affirmative. But in this direction there are some nuances.
Pruning is carried out together with other autumn plant care activities, which include:
- mulching;
- shelter;
- transplantation - if necessary.
Let us dwell in more detail at each of the stages.
Circumcision of stalks
Many gardeners, answering the question of whether to cut off the host for the winter, say that it is necessary to remove all the leaves of the plant. Others do not agree with this and suggest removing only some stems.
With the advent of cold weather, you need to remove the stems,on which flowers grew. So the plant will not form seeds and can save energy for the future of the growing season. And in the period of frosty winter, nutrients are simply necessary!
With the help of a pruner the florist gently cuts off the stems. The rest of the foliage is best not to touch. There are several reasons for this:
- because of the coldness, the leaves of the hosts will dry up and become a natural mulch for planting, and also protect the root structures from freezing;
- simultaneous pruning of the entire foliage - a huge stress for the plant.
If you cut off all the leaves at once, the host will try to increase them, spending a lot of effort on this process. Having weakened, the plant can not bear winter cold.
When to cut off the host for the winter? The process can begin when yellow leaves appear, but it should be done before morning frosts.
Some garden owners cut offhost with the arrival of spring. It is believed that such a pruning allows the plant to successfully winter, preserving its own strength. In the spring, with the appearance of new shoots, you can delete last year's.
Now it becomes clearer whether you need to trim the host for the winter. What other procedures should be done in the fall?
Mulching
Drying naturally, the leaves will becomean excellent mulching layer for the plant. But often gardeners use additional shelter in the form of organic. For this purpose, suitable lapnik, brushwood, sawdust, peat. To avoid the appearance of parasites in the mulch, as well as the development of various pathologies, the material should be treated with "Fitosporin-M".
Mulch can also be treated with tobacco dust. The smell of tobacco can not stand snails and slugs. These garden inhabitants represent the greatest danger to the host. The process of shelter will help to protect the roots of the plant from freezing.
Shelter
There is no special shelter for hosts. It is enough to protect the roots from frosts. Mulching material will perfectly cope with this task.
The lovers completely cut off all the foliage say that the leaves of the hosts will become an excellent mulching coating. This is true, but it should be borne in mind that such an approach can cause the development of various pathologies.
Use as cover a ruberoid or film is not needed. Materials do not breathe, so hosts can die under such cover. In addition, under such hiding places, rodents like to settle.
Transplant and top dressing
Some gardeners transplant the plant in the fall. This is not always justified, because the root structures may not have time to adapt in a new place, and the plant will die when the cold comes.
It is better to postpone the transplantation until the spring and notto risk. But if the autumn is warm and there is no threat of frost, a transplant can be performed. For this, plants are moved with a clod of earth, so as not to damage the roots.
Also, do not fertilize hosts in the fall. The use of nutrients will cause active development of the plant, and in this there is no sense before the meeting of winter. Hosts have enough spring and summer feeding.
So, we answered the question of whethercut off for the winter host. This unpretentious plant requires attention in the autumn period. Carry out pruning and other procedures necessary to prepare the planting for the arrival of winter and help them survive the cold period.
Hosts well winter, they differ frost resistance. However, these properties will be manifested in the event that the florist will provide proper care to plants and will not make common mistakes in this process.
