Getting to be time!

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Several months ago I posted about protecting newly planted conifers with paper Yard-Waste bags, I failed to include any mention about when to remove the bags. With the sudden jump in temperature this weekend ( despite the soil still being thoroughly frozen ), I’ve decided now’s the time to remove the protective bags. I usually wait for a forecast of 2 or 3 days of cloudy weather before I pull the trigger, however rain and snow moves in tonight and may last into Tuesday so I’ll uncover my plants today as I don’t want to be out in tomorrow’s weather.

A second Picea orientalis ‘Tom Thumb Gold’ added to the garden last summer (the protective bag removed). The angle of the Sun is still low enough this time of year that it’s rays are filtered through branches of much larger Norway Spruces.
A pair of young conifers (also added last summer) with the bags removed. The bamboo stakes remain as they are firmly held in place by the frozen soil.

Pinus virginiana ‘Wate’s Golden Broom’ showing it’s winter coloration. As today is quite sunny I’ll take some clothes pins and secure a piece of burlap fabric to the stakes to insure the sun light doesn’t scald any of the needles that were shaded for the past several months inside the bag. I’ll remove the fabric later this evening once the sun’s rays no longer reach it.

This Chamaecyparis lawsoniana ‘Filip’s Golden Tear’s’ came thru another winter ensconced within a paper bag, only the topmost 6″ of foliage (which extended above the rim of the paper bog) showing any winter-burn.
This little Pinus flexis ‘Granby’ didn’t get planted until mid September. Eventhough it’s planted atop a 30″ mound of sandy-loam and gravel, it also came thru the winter unmarred. It will be a couple of months more before the sun will be overhead, a large White Pine to the South of it will shade it till then. A couple of days of cloudy weather should be sufficient to acclimate the foliage to the sunshine. Most of March and April will have cloudy to partly cloudy days if not outright rain or snow. If not I can always drape a piece of burlap over the stakes.
Looks as though I should have “bagged” this Picea omorika as it shows some winter-burn. It was planted in May of 2020.

I hope you were able to get out and enjoy this weekend’s wonderful weather!

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