Anti-desiccants

Hi All,

Happy Holidays to everyone. I would like to know your opinions on the use of anti-dessicants for the winter. I have never used them and want to know if it's worth it. They are expensive. Do they really make a difference? Should they be used just for those shrubs in more exposed areas? Did anyone have damage on a plant one year and not on the same one subsequently treated? Thanks.

Victor

It has been my experience anti-dessicants are worthless. I have tried several experiments. Last year was telltale in my opinion. I wrapped several rhodos and azaleas with burlap. Several other rhodos and azaleas were not wrapped but were "protected" with Wilt Pruf (sp?). There were even more rhodos and azaleas that were not wrapped in burlap or treated with Wild Pruf. All 18 plants were watered well.

Which 6 plants faired the best... the plants that were not wrapped in burlap and not treated with Wilt Pruf. Go figure. I will add that the plants wrapped in burlap were left alone by the critters and did rebound quite well.

Most gardeners are aware of the devastating effects a summer drought can have, however, a winter drought can be even worse. Please consider this when attempting to preserve your rhodos and azaleas as people frequently feel there is no need to water in winter and there most assuredly is a need to water in winter for many plants in less than hospitable zones. The reality is that winter can be equally as brutal as summer when it comes to broad leafs such as rhodos, azaleas, kalmias, ilex, and a host of others. Mulch well in the fall (freeze/thaw cycles are real tough on plants) and water well (particulalry if there is no snow cover) throughout the winter as weather permits. This seems to be the best line of defense for my broad leafs in zone 5. Have to toss in that these plants were all planted in a protected area on my property.

Another option would be planting rhodos and azaleas specifically designed for a northern zone of 4 or 5. The U of Minnesota introduced a particularly hardy line of azaleas they have named Northern Hi-Lights. I planted 6 Rhododendron `White Lights' this past spring and will wait to see how they fair but so far so good over the summer.

Thanks much. That was the feeling I had and why I had not used them. Thanks for doing the experiment for me!

Victor

I've never tried that on holiday stuff.

But the products for transplanting - about 10 dollars - are incredible.

Sequoiadendron genus is a tough one to transplant: the department head of the college I attended gave me a 20 ft tall weeping giant Sequoia (you know those tall narrow ones?)

It was in a huge metal pot and tap rooted through a hole in the bottom. We had to dig under and cut the root. Anyway, I ended up having to move that tree on my truck in June in 85 degree weather BAREROOT from a east suburb of Portland all the way ot our west suburb.

I doused the tree in antidessicant spray and wrapped it and used all the speed the law would allow.

Anyway, I have moved a lot of plants, and I'm positive that tree would not have made that kind of move without the product on it.

So if I were to spray my holiday tree, or whatever, I'd use the product that the nurseries or garden centers sell for transplanting.

That's a great idea! I never thought of using an anti-dessicant for relocation and transplant. I've tried digging up a few Bald Cypress to plant over here and never had much luck. I also never thought of using it inside a home to extend the life of a Christmas tree. My husband loves Christmas trees and after our first 10 years of needles all over the house for a month out of every year, I asked him to please consider getting a fake which he did do. We've been using a fake tree for as long as I can remember now because of needles that were all over the place. There are some real nice fakes out there but he really would like to have a real tree again at Christmastime some day. Hmmm, maybe I'll try two small ones next year and douse them in Wilt Pruf just to see how it goes. I had been itching to flank the front door in the entryway with two small pines for years. This will sound totally female but... I clipped out a photograph of an entryway in which designers had taken two urns and placed a small narrow 4' pine in each that they very simply decorated in white Italian lights with little gold ribbons. The urns were then surrounded by white poinsettias in assorted coordinated planters. Very understated. I saved that photograph thinking some day- but, those darn needles that I ended up always finding in June were what has been stopping me from trying to recreate that look in my entryway. I think I'll give it a go next year! Thanks for the idea!