More than 20 people learned about “The Changing Season and Garden Clean Up,” presented by Richard Johnston at the Findley Lake Community Center recently. The presentation was sponsored by Community Connections at Findley Lake.

Johnston is the Garden Center manager of Johnston’s Evergreen Nursery and Garden Center in Erie. Richard is one of 15 members of the Johnston family, representing three generations, who works at the nursery that was established in 1953.

Johnston touched on several practices for preparing a flower garden to survive the winter and thrive the following spring.

“You have to know when your plants get their buds on them,” he said in regard to preparing for winter.

Richard Johnston, Garden Center Manager for Johnston’s Garden Center and Evergreen Nursery, talks about preparing one’s garden for winter. Submitted Photos

He noted that 90% of shrubs and flowers bud in the spring, so they can be cut back in the fall. However, some plants, such as dogwood, lilac and viburnum, form buds for their flowers in the fall.

“If you cut those off, there will be no flowers the following spring.”

It is crucial to prepare one’s flowers to avoid snow and winter weather damage, Johnston said. One simple way is to tie up shrubbery by wrapping a string all the way around it.

“You don’t have to strangle the shrub,” Johnston said.

Many plants also benefit from covering to protect them from winter winds, Johnston said. When the ground freezes, the shrub no longer cycles water to its leaf, and the winter winds can actually burn parts of the plant, he said. Shrubs such as broadleaf evergreens and azaleas can be dried out by the winter winds, he added.

Richard Johnston, Garden Center Manager for Johnston’s Garden Center and Evergreen Nursery, talks about preparing one’s garden for winter. Submitted Photos

Trimming plants is all about timing, Johnston said.

“People ask, ‘When do I trim my perennials?’ For perennials in general, you trim when the plant looks bad.”

There is room for error, Johnston said. If one trims their shrub a little early, the shrub will start growing again.

“People say, ‘Woah, what’s going to happen?’ Nothing. The plants will be fine,” he said.

One particular shrub which often presents problems when trimming is the hydrangea.

“I end up giving this talk about hydrangea in every presentation I make,” Johnston said.

Most hydrangea varieties are macrophyllas, Johnston said. That is, they grow on the old wood, he said. As the leaves die off, the sticks remain, both the buds for new leaves and for flowers form on these sticks. If a person cuts these down, they will have no flowers, he added.

Johnston also spike about several species of “perennials that pop,” that is, perennials whose flowers bloom over a long time. With flowers such as daylilly and black-eyed susan, one an get a second bloom by deadheading the flowers as they die off, he said.

Other plants, such as coneflowers, gallardia and coral bells, do not like wet, clay-like ground, Johnston said.

“If you plant it in water, you will kill it. Rather these varieties need to be mounded up in loose, humus soil,” he said.

Many beautiful flowering plants have new varieties that allow them to survive our winters, Johnston said. Hibiscus, pansy, viola, and bee balm, as well as geranium, bloom for long periods of time and can be carried through the winter, he said.

Community Connections at Findley Lake regularly invites experts like Johnston to share information with the public in their Communi-Tea Room in the Community Center at 2883 North Road in Findley Lake.