Protecting perennials

[user1471530109]

Hi wise gardeners.

I've got carried away with gardening in this horrendous year of covid. I've thoroughly enjoyed it. Now I'm back at work, I've been less able to keep up with it all though!

I've planted gladioli bulbs (still enjoying these), Dutch irises and a wonderful glatonia viriflora.

Do I need to dig them up over winter? I'm rural midlands if that makes a difference. Can I get away with mulching instead?

I lost a salvia last year as didn't know I needed to protect some perennials so don't want to lose anymore. My crocosmia didn't do much this year either and wondering if this is why.

But of a bump please.

Best thing to do is look on the RHS website and check what they say about hardiness. As well as that, take account of your soil type, as some bulbs don't like it too wet during the winter and tend to rot.

Am in Herts but find crocosmia take a year or two to settle in and expand. They were great this year and hadn't been looked after for two or three years.
I leave mine in over winter and they seem fully hardy on mainly clay soil. As pp indicated the RHS site is a great source of info - good luck.

Just looked up glatonia viriflora, thank you, looks amazing.

I’m in a coastal area with a v mild climate, few frosts, so most things survive with a bit of mulch. Stuff Is more in danger of getting too wet. So I tend to grow somethings in containers so I can just pop the containers somewhere drier like under the eaves. Dahlias which were spectacular this year Were treated like that.

So depends, if you get hard frosts or v wet you might need more than a mulch.

Thank you. I will try RHS website. I think last winter was fairly mild so I was even more surprised I lost one of the salvias. The other is still flowering now and looks amazing.

Good to know about the crocosmia. I might lift a half of the gladioli and mulch the others and see what happens. The irises are all in containers I think, so may just pop those in the lean to.

@GolightlyMrsGolightly glad you like the glatonia. It looked lovely this year. I'm wondering if I should cut it back but from the limited info I can find, it suggests not.... I think I preferred it when I didn't know there was the option of pruning and protecting . Now I'm just worried I make the wrong decision!

There is a gardening program on Sunday mornings on BBC2 following the re-run of Gardeners World.
It's Scottish based and the other week one of the presenters was advocating not digging up your Dahlias to overwinter but putting a heavy mulch on instead! And this is Scotland not 'dahn Sarf' like!