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Roller-coaster temperatures are pretty typical of fall weather in the North County. Just last Sunday, it hit 65 degrees at my house, and a few days later, it was 18 degrees. We've had calls from people who have seen a few blossoms opening on their spring-blooming forsythia and viburnum. I even saw a buttercup in bloom in our meadow last week.
Almost every fall, a few spring-blooming shrubs get mixed up and start to flower, but luckily, this hasn't had an impact on the following spring's show. It's usually just a few confused blossoms, and the rest wait until spring.
With all these mixed signals, it's a wonder how plants figure it out. Day length is a signal that fall is coming, too, and this changes much more consistently than do our temperatures. But there are cases in cities where trees become "confused" by streetlights and don't drop their leaves on schedule.
Roses are notoriously slow to get the hint that winter is coming. The leaves on Rugosa roses turn color very late and just last week were still quite showy. The fancy hybrid tea roses aren't quite winter hardy enough for our region, and they often keep growing all fall instead of gradually shutting down and hardening off for winter.
HARDENING OFF
Hardening off describes the process in which plants begin to concentrate the water content of their cells. Water expands when it freezes, so plant cells with too much water can physically burst when they freeze, and that kills the cells. When plant cells harden off, they lose some of their water and concentrate the remaining contents, sort of like making their own antifreeze.
It's important to let plants go through this hardening off process before you put any kind of protection over them. Strawberries and tea roses both need winter protection in our climate, but if you cover them too soon, they won't have hardened off so they'll be less able to tolerate the really cold temperatures of winter. Wait until the ground has frozen before covering these plants. Your goal is to lock in a steady cold temperature and help them avoid exposure to temperature fluctuations in midwinter that could bring them out of dormancy.
The truly winter-hardy plants don't need all this fussing. They're hardy because they're able to respond to these fall signals and prepare themselves for winter. If you want a low-maintenance landscape or garden, choose only the truly hardy plants and avoid the fussy ones.
TRUNK PROTECTION
One of the saddest calls we get in the spring is from people whose young trees were girdled over the winter by voles and rabbits. This is especially a problem when we have deep snow because it provides protection for these chewing critters from their predators. All the critters have to do to kill a tree is chew the bark off most of the way around the trunk. Young trees are especially tender and tasty; as they age, the bark gets thicker and offers better protection.
So take a few minutes this fall to protect young tree trunks. The plastic spiral tree guards are easy to use but they must fit well to work. If there are any gaps, the critters can reach the trunk. A cylinder of half-inch mesh hardware cloth set around the trunk and extending 2 to 3 feet up is ideal. Just be sure to check the fit each year. As the tree grows, it expands in diameter, and eventually the rigid wire can girdle the tree it's supposed to protect.
Amy Ivy is executive director of Cornell Cooperative Extension, Clinton County. Office phone numbers: Clinton County 561-7450, Essex County 962-4810, Franklin County 483-7403. Web site: http://www.cce.cornell.edu/ecgardening. E-mail questions to askMG@cornell.edu
