Garden Tips - Protection Through Winter and Fertilization

We were able to weed the garden, clean up the dead leaves and replace any damaged felt walkways. We leave the leaves on over the winter to act as insulation.

While inspecting the irises we also fill in any low spots with soil to avoid ponding of water. Also, if the freeze has pushed any rhizomes above the ground we cover with a thin layer of dirt. After the irises are weeded and the dead leaves removed we apply Preen Garden Weed Preventer to the iris beds to reduce the amount of future weeds and fertilize the irises with 6-24-24.

​For those that want the full scoop the first number in a fertilizer is the amount of nitrogen which promotes foliage and overall growth, the second number is the amount of phosphorus which encourages root development and the last number is the amount of potassium which promotes disease resistance and aides in flower production. These three numbers represent the primary nutrients of nitrogen (N) - phosphorus (P) - potassium (K) . This label, known as the fertilizer grade, is a national standard.