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Intro and a peony question
Hi! I just started lurking here about a week ago, and I figured I should introduce myself. I'm sort of a trial and error gardener - I plant a bunch of stuff and see what survives. If it doesn't make it, I replace it with something else. It's like a science project for me. That said, I would turn my whole backyard into veggie and flower beds if DH would let me. I'm currently trying to talk him into letting me plant a lavender garden along one whole side of our yard. He's not feeling it.
Anyway, my peony question is what, if anything, do you do to winterize your peonies?
Last winter I didn't winterize anything in my perennial gardens, and everything that was going to make it over the winter made it just fine (turns out rosemary shouldn't stay out all winter - whoops!). I just cleaned up all the dead stuff in the spring. I read somewhere that you should cut peonies down to about 3 inches around the time of the first frost, and they'll come back even better the following spring. True or not true? Oh, and I live in New England, if that matters.
Re: Intro and a peony question
I have no idea re: peonies, but there are hardy cultivars of rosemary. 'Arp' and '(something) Hill' are hardy to about -10*F I believe.
Not sure if it gets colder than that in RI, but you can leave these kinds of rosemary outside in the DC area.
Thanks guys!
The foliage on the peonies is already starting to look pretty bad, but I probably won't get around to dealing with them for another couple of weeks anyway, so they should be good and dead by then - we've already had frost all this week. Maybe I'll try cutting them back this year, and see what happens. I'm just scared that they won't come back! I know that's irrational, but that's how my mind works.
And thanks for the Rosemary info! I'll ask at my nursery if they have some that will make it over winter. Maybe if I took better care of it and wrapped it up for the winter or something, that would help too. I love having fresh herbs, and I like the way they make my gardens smell when I plant them in with the flowers, instead of just in pots on the deck (that's where most of them are every summer, for easy access from the kitchen).
Sugar & Spice
The two are called Arp and Hill Hardy (or Madalene Hill, less commonly). Arp is widely considered the hardiest.
Thank you! I'm sticking a note in my planner with this info, so that I remember to ask about it at the nursery.
Sugar & Spice