Can my landscaping not have mulch or any covering over it until next spring? Will the roots of the bushes be okay without the mulch?

Question

Can my landscaping not have mulch or any covering over it until next spring? Will the roots of the bushes be okay without the mulch?

Answer 1

That really depends upon where you live. If you get a good covering of snow, the snow will act as an insulator for those plants in the ground; however, if you get really cold temps and don't get snow, the roots can freeze. I'm wondering if these are new plants or older, more established plants. I would definitely cover them or mulch them to protect them if this is their first winter. If you don't want the expense of doing mulch right now, consider using straw. It is relatively inexpensive and can be left there afterwards to put under the mulch. It will eventually decompose and add to the texture of the soil, but try to find straw that is as weed-free as possible. If you've got fairly new shrubs or bushes, you can buy some protectors, which may not be a bad idea, even if you do mulch. These will protect against the really drying winds that can break and kill the plants above the ground. Hope this helps.

Answer 2

Yes, for many years in the past no one ever even knew what mulch was and their bushes did very well. Mulch isn't gonna do much anyway in the cold. If they are evergreen and broadleaf get WiltPruf and spray undersides of leaves. It is an antidessicant. Evergreens lose water over winter and parts die. If you spray this on as directed it helps plant retain moisture. If the plant is one that blooms on old wood and loses leaves (deciduous) then you may have to wrap it in burlap to keep it from dying back. If they are rose bushes, cut back 1/3rd and pack leaves around base. An alternative is to make cuttings or get Own Root Roses which are more hardy. In any case you wait till they bud in spring and cut back to about a foot. Make sure top bud points OUT. Cut away inner canes, it should look like an upside down umbrella. If it is an old style Hydrangea, give up and buy a new type which blooms on new wood. If it is a butterfly bush then it will die back but you cut it back to about 10" in spring. If it is a hardy hibiscus, cut back to ground level. If it is a decorative grass and large about 6' high cut back to about 15" in spring.

Answer 3

Probably, but mulch is cheap enough to not take chances on loosing a bush if it is a nice one.

Answer 4

That rather depends on how cold it gets and which kinds of bushes you have. Last winter was the coldest winter around here and our Rosemary bush and butterfly bush died. Rosemary was doomed to die, since we're the highest zone it has a chance to make it through winter. (She made it through seven winters though.) Butterfly bush died and that's zoned for two zones north of us. So, it really depends on where you live and which kinds of bushes you have.