BENDING MY OWN RULES.....a little

In a normal weather year, you should never winter mulch the plants until the ground is staying frozen. Usually that starts about now. Winter mulching is covering your plants with 6-12" of loose material, the crown and all. Not to be confused with mulching around the base of plants to conserve moisture during the growing season. The danger of winter mulching to early, is getting a streak of warm, wet weather that would than be prone to rot the plant crown. But.....the season grows real short, and if I don't start covering my 2 acres of iris soon (by hand) it will never get done. The main purpose of winter mulch is for 'spring' protection, not winter. It helps to keep the root systems from drying in winter if no snow cover for wind protection, and in the spring helps to keep the soil temps more even, stopping the plants from 'heaving' out of the ground. Heaving happens when we get the warm days and frozen nights in late winter/early spring. Normally when possible, thick layers of mulch are removed in stages. If you already have a lot of pale green growth because you are uncovering late, be sure to do in stages, like 3 steps over a weeks times. If you remove all at once it can scorch that tender new growth. Cloudy days better than sunny. Follow my blog throughout the winter for more garden tips and babbling nonsense!