Green Mountain Boxwood Winter Protection

10 years ago

Hi all,

I have tried to do a lot of reading and we have planted 4 Green mountain pyramidal boxwood this year. Winter is coming in Michigan (zone 6a) and I have seen a lot of boxwood get damaged from previous winters.

I plan on using wilt-proof this week to help it trough the winter.

The real questions is does making a burlap tee-pee or box around the boxwood actually help?

Thanks!

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Comments (4)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
10 years ago
yes it does... and i place no stock on wilt proof ...

grew up in livonia and moved to adrian...

frankly.. after 30 years in MI gardens ... i learned.. to let them be free range.. if they die.. so be it.. and that was after 20 years of burlapping too many plants for winter ... i am glad to be done with the foo foo ones ...

and be aware .. out here in adrian.. a usual z5.. i have had two zone 4 winters in a row.... and if you go down to that..... burlap is NOT going top make much a difference ... and that is why you saw such widespread devastation of BW this last spring ...

if you are metro detroit... having lived here my whole life.. i have not been much impressed that the suburbs are z6 .... so good luck with that ...in other words.. its not a reliable z6..IMHO ....

but if you are west coast MI ... that z6 MI is pretty well proven ...

ken

ps: the burlap/box .... does two things... keeps the plant out of sun ... so it doesnt thaw on winter days that look like today [glorious eh?] ... and it retards night winds ... the combination of the two .... which leads to freeze drying of tissue and death ...
Smivies (Ontario - 5b)
10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
Green Mountain shouldn't need any protection in your area. If boxwoods are being damaged, they are likely American or English Box. Virtually anything crossed with Korean Box (eg. Green Mountain) will shrug off winter unless they have a pre-existing cultural issue (too wet, too dry, boxwood psyllid, salt exposure, etc.)
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akamainegrower
10 years ago
Evergreen shrubs have three main enemies in the winter: cold temperatures, wind and sun. Alone, but especially together, these cause dessication of the foliage. There is nothing a gardener can do about the temperature, but anything that mitigates the other two factors is helpful. Burlap or other similar shelters are worthwhile. I have used WiltPruf for 25+ years - almost exclusively on broad leafed rhododendrons - and would not go into winter without applying it to those rhododendron varieties prone to winter damage or in especially exposed locations.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
10 years ago
btw.... i dont put much stock in the sprays.. because i am a cheappo.... lol ...

i simply am not willing to invest in annual repeated spraying of product.. on a plant that is basically very borderline hardy ...

if others use it.. with success ... and dont care about the cost plus work to use it.. all the power to them ...

ken