HelpfulGardener.com

Hello!

We've just planted 4 Incrediball shrubs a week ago and they are just teensy weensy little plants that I had mailed in from Burpee. Not possessing a lick of gardening knowledge, we're flying on a wing and a prayer in hopes that they will eventually turn into giant, blooming, beautiful bushes in another 5 years or so. Not wanting to strike out right from the beginning, we want to make sure we do everything correctly. Already we're receiving our first frost/freeze warning tonight (we live in Minnesota, what do you expect?!? ) and we are wondering whether to cover them this evening? If so, what do we use?

I would post a photo of what we're working with here, but I can't figure out how to do it! Just trust me when I say they are so little that you can hardly see them sticking up out of the ground right now!

Thanks in advance for your advice!

Danielle

I would water them and make sure they have 3-4" of organic mulch. That will protect the roots. You can cover the shrubs with sheets or burlap. Some people would simply do nothing as H. arborescens is quite tough; I would only would worry if it is a hard freeze.

Leaves may get killed but, Incrediball does not produce flower buds until Spring so little is lost if the leaves die off. As long as the roots are protected, it should come back in Spring. Remember to give it water (1 gallon every 1 or 2 weeks) if this winter is dry and the ground has not frozen.

So how did the shrubs fare?