Monarda - Winter help please

My Monarda, purchased this year has done well and still has some flowers, however I will need to decide how to over-winter it.

Being Hardy I assume it can stay out, but need advice as to whether to cut back or leave alone.

It's Winter environment will be temperatures of -10 or worse and likelihood of being buried below at least 12" of snow for extended timescales (possibly weeks).

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Its entirely up to you if you cut it back now or spring gcc, some plants look quite pretty covered in frost, sure they'll be fine mine all came through last winter unscathed, love monardas its just the flippin mildew they always seem to suffer with I hate.
You could always collect seed as an insurance too, they are really easy to grow from seed.

 

Where do you live, gcc3663? My monarda will have to cope with temperatures down to
-10 but unlikely to be lower for long if at all, and maybe snow for a week at a time. Having said that, the winter before last we were under snow for six weeks but most things don't seem to mind snow too much.

 

Northumberland. We see volume snow for weeks at a time and because of the sheltered environment in the garden it stays put.

I'm considering surrounding the Monarda with stakes and fleecing to prevent damage due to snow weight, and hoping the frost/ice doesn't get in.

 

Hi dont waste your time with the stakes and fleecing , they practicaly die right back into the ground as long as the soil is free draining you wont have a problem with surviving the winter.

My main problem last winter spring was voles making tunnels underneath them but they came back no problem plus I always give a fresh top dressing of compost in the spring late March Early April all over the bed , I grow Squaw and Cambridge scarlet and others had a thing about Monarda 3 years ago as they realy like my garden.

Spruce

 

A plant I give no worry too, and it comes up wonderful each and every year.
Most likely it is pruned down in half along with the other clean up I do in my gardens sometime in December.

 

Hi, never seen that plant before but looks lovely . What colour is the one you have?

 

I grew my Monarda from seed last year, planted them out in my centre bed in the front garden , In spring this year they re- appeared and grew away quite happily, then I had garden work done so they were yanked up end of June and stuffed into buckets, They started to flower beautifully and when I replanted them I cut away all the flowers to get root growth and they have grown away strongly and I had more flowers. :yess: So overall they must be pretty tough

 

Its Scarlet, and really stands out near the back of the border

 

Bet that looks really striking I might have to put this on my list for next year :P Any ideal spot would you say?

 

Have a number of Monardas which I never touch in the Winter but sadly they tend to be a bit too thuggy in my garden, surviving and expanding in the Winter. I cannot imagine that they would need too much protection even at those temperatures.

 

Any advice about removing spent flowers ?
It seems to have kept going until now but I thought about the benefits to other plants from removing dead heads. I bottled it this year non the Monarda - didn't want to upset it.[/QUOTE]


You can leave till the spring March/April to give them a tidy up , I leave about a inch of stem thats all do this when I am top dressing the bed.


As you can see others do realy well with them , another one I have is Beauty of Cobham , realy strong grower and a old favourite that has stood the test of time.

Spruce

 

Yes, these plants are as tough as old boots.
I have numerous different types here and in various positions and they came through the severe (for this region) minus 12 temps of last winter with no trouble at all.

I've cut mine to the ground in the autumn and i've left them alone and each time it makes no difference to the plants performance come spring.


As a footnote to fleecing .........
I was informed by a nurseryman, last year, that fleecing is only effective to minus 5, anything below that and the fleecing has no protective effect at all.