Anyone grow Luna or Disco Belle in Zone 4

20 years ago

I bought a Luna Blush last summer and it is 3.5' and perfectly rounded and in bud. It is going to be a beauty. I only protected with a few inches of leaves. Well, last winter the temps dropped to about -20 which is warm for here but we didn't have much snow cover. I wasn't too surprised that it came back, but today I went to a box store had they just got a shipment of Luna Red's and Blush's in large pots. They look great. The lady told me they are Zone 5 hardy, and I told her about my beautiful Luna Blush and she couldn't believe it. She also said due to the lack of snow cover many people complained that many of their perenials didn't come back. I told her I lost none.

So my question is, was I just Lucky that our temps weren't that cold? If I winter protect better this yeat in case we get below -20 (which we probably will) will it protect them, or should I keep this new one in a pot and put it in my unheated basement for the winter?

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Comments (3)

donna_jj
20 years ago
I have managed to overwinter many H. moscheutos, including Luna's and Disco Belle's here in Quebec will our not so nice winters. I always dump a lot of mulch ( leaves, compost, earth, etc....) at least twelve inches thick on the base of the plant from the stem out to the drip ring.Don't worry about breaking branches as they will die off during the winter anyways. If they thought of loose leaves bothers you, I have also bagged them, squished the air out of the bags before closing them, and stack these on my hibiscus beds. I usually weigh this down with branches or bags of leaves tied down for the winter. This has managed to keep them all going for a number of years, through the easy winters and the harsh ones. I have on occasion dug up and brought indoors some of them, but they died even when kept in an unheated area. As well, late summer and autumn purchases never overwinter here, as they do not seem to get a grip with their roots and establish themselves before the cold sets in. Spring plantings always seem to do well. I hope this helps.
Carola_MN
Original Author
20 years ago
Thanks Donna, this was helpful. I have another question. Last year I planted my Luna Blush about this time and didn't have any winter problems with it but it was a mild winter. I would like to plant the new Luna Red in the ground but it would not be it's permanent location because it is too small and wouldn't be seen. Would it be OK to transplant next spring before it breaks dormancy, since it doesn't show above ground until June?
donna_jj
20 years ago
Yes, you should not have any problem- I dig up and split/transplant in the spring any of mine which have grown too big for their location the previous year. Make sure that it is well mulched over the winter, and in the spring ( usually May/June) I dig them up to split them. I usually wait until they have started to send up small shoots then dig, divide and move them. By this time the weather is usually warm enough to not have any more frost. This year I did not dig until near the end of June and the shoots were about 6 inches high, all the divisions of the plant survived and are growing just fine. When you plant it in its new location, fill the hole with compost-these plants are heavy feeders and the compost will keep them happy.