???'s on putting perennials to bed for the winter

I'm asking because I've lost some 'new' perennials in the last few years, such as Silvermound Artemesia, maiden pinks, guara. I'm not sure what I did wrong before, but I've got some new plants this year that I really don't want to lose over the winter. The new ones this year are:
Lobelia x speciosa 'Fan Deep Rose'
Penstemon 'Red Rocks'
Sedum x 'Bertram Anderson'
Phlox paniculata 'Amethyst'
Delphinium grandiflorum 'Summer Morning'
All of these are planted in a freeform bed out in the middle of the yard, so there's no protection from the house or any fence.

Do you cut all visible growth back to the ground on woody perennials after the leaves have succumbed to frost? My reference book says to mulch the lobelia with evergreen boughs in areas with cold winters...does it *have* to be evergreen boughs?? Can I use straw instead? Or leaves raked off the lawn? Here in Pittsburgh, we never know what kind of winter we'll get, although planning for the worst is probably the best idea.

Also, any late winter/early spring treatment to help ward off fungi or diseases next year?

Thanks in advance for your input!

Cheryl

Cheryl, From a born & raised Pittsburgher, Hi! You need to protect your plants from the possible freezing & thawing, I usually trim my plants back in the fall, and let the falling leaves stay in the beds. In the spring when the bulbs are starting to come up I gently rake out the leaves.
The winters in your area may not give you enough snow fall to give your plants a protective blanket all winter long. Even where I live now, we can't depend on having an "old fashion winter" where the only dirt or grass you saw all winter was the paths leading to the snowman right after he was assembled.

ladygardener: Does cutting the plants back help the freezing-thawing-heaving? I don't usually cut back until the spring, though I know most people think it good practice to cut back in the fall. I like to think the plant stalks help hold the leaves in place, which acts as a mulch. But I may be all wrong.

I usually cut down the tall stalks, makes clean-up easier in the spring, the heavy snows we get up here breaks down the stalks and really makes a mess. The base of the plants will usually trap enough falling leaves to give it enough winter protection. Plus the wind really whips some plants around if left too tall.
I cut my butterfly bushes back to about a foot tall, I had one bent over so bad from the heavy snow that it had root exposure.

I haven't grown those specifically, but I usually leave the leaves in the bed too, just not enough time to rake them all out. Then in spring, it feels good and maybe is good, to rake those wet clumpy leaves off from around the new growth.
I don't think it 'has' to be evergreen boughs. I think that just makes a handy thing that won't clump down and get wet and slimy around th plant. If you have a supply of evergreen boughs, LOL. Once in awhile, I cut the branches off my Xmas tree and use them. But mostly leaves, pine needles, straw, wood mulch

We always cut up our Christmas tree and put the boughs around the azaleas to help acidify the soil . . . .

ladygardener1....Hello up there!

happy_macomb....Question: is the town named after the actor/comedian, or the other way around?? I've always wondered that....LOL

I can't cut up my Christmas tree; it gets folded up & put back in the box for next year! ;-D

Leaves I can absolutely do, there are plenty of those around. And we usually have a bale of straw for Halloween/Fall decoration so I've got that too. In the past we've put it on the veggie garden, and then tilled it into the soil come spring. But I can always rake it off the flower garden and still till it into the veggie patch.

I just couldn't figure out why I lost my artemesia, guara & maiden pinks over last winter. But the bed wasn't mulched at all, so I will definetely put something on there this year. I think I'll stick some markers in before cutting everything back also.

Thanks everyone for the input.

Oh yeah, that's the other thing about not cutting back--it gives me clues as to what is in there!

Cheryl: Re Chevy Chase -- from a little poking around the internet, most people don't think Chevy Chase the actor got his name from the town, but rather that "Chevy" was a family nickname. Maybe it was inspired by the town -- I don't know. Chevy Chase the town has had that name a long time and certainly didn't get it from the actor.

Here is an article I found written by the owner & manager of BlueStone Perennials
http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/19/

Very informative article!
Thank you so much for posting that link, ladygardener1.

So after reading that, I guess I should just cut down, clean out, & not mulch. No telling when the ground may freeze hard here, or how many freeze/thaw cycles we'll get.

One thing caught my attention in the article -- it suggested fertilizing "anytime from late fall to early summer." Do you fertilize in the fall?

I have another suggestion. Several of the plants you mentioned are drought tolerant plants and some of them might be rotting over the winter if conditions are too wet. Might want to check specific recommendations for overwintering some of these plants. High Country Gardens would probably have specific information for most of them since they specialize in drought tolerant plants.

Me too -- I usually wait. But maybe it would help the root development to do it earlier. One year I fertilized daffs really early, when the foliage just started to emerge, and they went gangbusters. I haven't remembered to do that since.

LOL happy- I have the same problem!

Someone should start a post for all our good intentions as gardeners that we don't get around to doing -- mine is really really long!

I hadn't fertilized my perennials at all before, since most (according to my book) said they prefer not to be fertilized. But this past summer my stuff didn't look all too healthy, so I did put on some composted manure & soil conditioner late this summer. Of course that was before reading that article....doh!

Hart: Yes, those plants are drought-tolerant "once established" but I fear those plants I lost were too dry in late summer last year, and they had only been planted that spring, so were'nt that well established yet. I'm starting to think it was just an unlucky roll of the dice....sigh.

Hey Cheryl, Just to let you know I had snow flakes today! I'll be happy to send some your way soon if we get more. ] ; ^ )
I sure miss the sunny south. lol

Cheryl- I think composted manure and conditioner late summer sounds good actually- Gentle, they can take what they need without being overstimulated. Maybe you're right too about being dry at end of last summer. It really was--I ahd moved things late last year thinking "It's got to rain and cool off now" but whoops.

BRRR! I was expecting chilly but sunny here yesterday. Turned cloudy and windy and cold!!! Nasty!!! Got a flu shot done tho. Had rain all night here.