Last December I mulched my potted plants to help them survive the winter cold. I used crumpled newspaper to give the surface of the soil an uneven cover, hopefully creating air pockets to keep the soil, roots, and stems from freezing. I then covered the paper with soil to keep it in place. Here are the results.
Winter Mulching Failure
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The first test was my ornamental grass and geraniums in my
repurposed BBQ planter. It wasn't a total failure. My ornamental grass is doing well, but the geraniums didn't produce any new growth. I hated to give up on them, so I put the root balls in another pot just in case I wasn't patient enough. To take their place, I purchased four new geraniums to start filling in the blank space.
Winter Mulching Success
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In March when I uncovered the rhubarb roots, a few sprouts were already appearing. It didn't look too promising, but I went ahead and dug in some new compost and added some multipurpose plant food.
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When I returned to the cabin at the beginning of May, I was surprised at the results. I would say this one was a resounding success. I'm glad. I love the taste of rhubarb in pies. -- Margy