Question
QUESTION: Hello,
The snow recently melted and the perennials are starting to come up. So my question is we put down mulch in fall, so now that it's spring should I remove it? We have red wood chip mulch, and I would hate for the plants to struggle to come out from underneath it. But at the same time, we cant water it so we have to retain the moisture and it still goes below 32 at night. The plants I'm worried about are mostly bulbs.  The tulips seem to be coming fine, but the lilies and irises, should i move the mulch from them since they seem so delicate (and doesn't the iris bulb need to be exposed to the sun anyway?) Also what about daylilies: will they suffocate with the mulch. One final thing, our asiatic lilies haven't shown any signs of coming up. Is it getting late for them (we live in a 3/4 climate) Thanks

ANSWER: Hello again Mini,

I am in zone 5 and my tulips, like yours have broken through but my lilies are just barely breaking the soil. Some of them are under quite a heavy layer of mulch (four inches). I would not recommend removing mulch from lilies that will be exposed to temperatures below freezing. Many will be fine but I have a couple of lilies (Amethyst Temple, a trumpet) that are damaged enough by below freezing temperatures that they will not bloom. And don抰 worry. Your lilies will push their way through.

Mulching daylilies is a very beneficial thing to do. You can mulch as much as 3 inches deep anytime during the season. It helps with moisture retention and is a handsome backdrop for them. But do be careful not to bury the crowns. Leave a mulch free zone around the base of each daylily. That will give the plants breathing room.

It is important to avoid mulching irises during the growing season. If you want to mulch because of its handsome appearance, DO NOT covers the rhizomes, because they need sunlight to help their development for the following year.

What about freezing weather? It won抰 harm them although it might cause them to heave out of the ground as a result of successive freezes and thaws. Try mulching over the winter with something lighter and airier, like pine needles or evergreen boughs AFTER the ground has frozen. They don抰 hold water or get soggy, which can produce rot. Once the ground is frozen mice won抰 move into the soil under the mulch to snuggle up, and the insulating effect keeps the ground from thawing and freezing.

Does this help? Please feel free to write again.

Donna


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks, well the lilies are coming up, but it doesn't seem like we have too many more than last year, same for the daylilies.  So is there anything you can suggest to increase the growth rate and multiply faster? Also when you say a mulch-free zone, I should be able to see just soil around the base of the plant and then pile mulch up around the base but not directly on it (but then will rain and wind make the mulch cave in around the crown?) Just trying to be clear, Thanks!

Answer
Greetings again,Mini

When I mention a mulch free zone I抦 really referring to the fact that you should not have mulch packed against the base of the daylilies. As you rightly say, some mulch will fall in but it will be light and fluffy and opposed to pack against the plant.

Compost is great fertilizer but for really bodacious blooms you need something more. A balanced 10-10-10 fertilizer applied at planting, or the beginning of the season, and then a few weeks later will do the trick. Or a balanced timed release fertilizer.  Just don抰 use those fertilizers with a high nitrogen number (say, 30-15-10). You抣l get tons of foliage at the expense of flowers.

Does this help?

Donna