By Paul A. Thomas
University of
Georgia
Interested in fall-through-spring color? Tired of pansies? Here’s
an idea: think vegetables and perennial foliage instead of
relying on flower color.
Pansies and snapdragons don’t bloom consistently all winter. But
the January and early February doldrums happen every year. By
late January, after pansy color has recessed, the remaining
foliage will inevitably reveal your planning and artistic
skills.
There are NO sure-thing, 12-month color plants. And most of the
new materials on the market are selected from plants native to
moderate winter areas that don’t get our
warm-then-quickly-very-cold weather.
Foliage first
You could easily be left with only the foliage of your fall color
plants for up to three months. So consider the foliage form and
color as the main design feature and allow the flowers to be the
extra benefit.
Here are some new plants being bantered about in the landscape
designer circles. Contact your local greenhouse, landscaper or
garden center to be sure they have enough for fall planting.
Cabbages and Kales: ‘Red Bore’,
and ‘Red Russian’ are excellent texture plants for massing or as
dark and substantial backgrounds for pansies and viola beds. Red
Bore is a tight-leaved, large kale with very ruffled, deep
red-purple leaves at the 2-foot level. It’s like having
red/purple ostrich plumes rising up behind the pansies.
Mustards: Red Giant, Mizuna, Osaka
Purple and many others will be popular again this year. Used as
line accents, separators and focal groups in well-defined
colonies, the mustards have come into a period of wide
acceptance.
Pak Choi: ‘Tatsoi’ is a flat,
low-growing, mustard-like plant with intensely spiraled, deep
green rosettes. The plant may get 6 to 8 inches high and provides
dramatic foliage against violas, pansies and dianthus.
Swiss Chard: ‘Bright Lights’ is a
fantastic plant with brightly colored stems, as if someone from
Sesame Street stopped by with a paint brush and went wild. Kids
love them. The challenge is to use them where the stems can be
seen head on.
Poppy: Remember, think foliage
first. Ornamental poppies sown or transplanted in mid-fall are
actually quite beautiful. Plant them on 4-inch centers or seed
them heavily to get the carpet effect. The silver-green, feathery
leaves are stunning, and when they bloom, it’s a show stopper.
Left uncovered, though, they can be killed by 10-degree cold
snaps.
A ‘snap’ plan
Always have a “snap” plan to protect your investment. Warm
winters followed by short, severe cold snaps seem to happen three
out of four years.
Most crops are killed by leaf tissue drying out, not freezing. As
soils freeze, the roots can’t take up water. Usually a cold front
brings dry air and sunny weather. Leaves warm up, but mulched
soils don’t. The bright sun and wind cause the leaves to lose
water the roots can’t replace.
You can prevent this.
Cover the entire bed with a 2-inch layer of pine straw. This
significantly reduces the light and heat from the sun. (Plants
don’t need this, as most are inactive at 32 degrees Fahrenheit.)
It keeps the plants cold so they don’t lose precious leaf water
and significantly reduces the loss of future buds and leaves.
A frost cloth works well, too. And it’s much easier to clean up.
When it warms up again, simply rake off the straw or remove the
cloth. Remember, when it’s really cold, keeping out light and
wind are the most important.
