Zone 5 Plant Material
Many gardeners are on the search for new and exciting plants to experiment with in their gardens. The successes and failures they experience are just part of the game and add to the challenge of gardening in our area. Many of us have very successfully used Zone 5 plant material for years and have reaped the joys of having a beautiful foliage or bloom to complement the staid Zone 3 to 4 plants that are the bones of our gardens. The key to using the less hardy plants is to use them as specimens that you can take extra precautions with, to ensure that you have success.

Tender shrubs and perennials often require the extra effort of finding a good site or microclimate in your yard, soil amendments, meeting specific watering needs, and mulching. Our summer climate in western South Dakota can be very dry and windy and the winters are often very cold with yo-yo temperatures and a complete lack of snow cover for late season. A 3-4" layers of mulch will help to even out temperature and moisture fluctuations. Additional mid-winter applications of straw, pine boughs or pine needles to a depth of 12" with help to prevent dessication caused by winds and little snow cover. Plant collectors have practiced these measures for many years with great success.

Cold hardiness zones that publications print are relative to other factors besides just the average temperatures over the past 25 years. Snow cover, likelihood of early or late frosts, rainfall (moisture available to the plant) and protection all should be figured into the bigger picture when choosing plant material in any zone.

For a sneak preview of just a few exciting Zone 5 plants Jolly Lane will offer in 2001, click below: