Do Gaura Pink fountain plants need to be covered in frost?

The first thing you need to do is establish what planting zone you are in.

The gauras will not winter over outside in zones colder than 5.

Then there is the issue of microclimates without your planting zone.

I am in zone 4B but because of my elevation, location of deciduous trees and prevailing winds, my plants need to be tougher than those of my neighbors, several miles away.

The gaura is very pretty and might require some TLC.

Where do you live?

No. They are a zone 5 plant. That means they are freeze hardy to -20 through a freeze.

You should over-mulch for winter.

First of all, thank you both for answering.

Gailcalled-
I live in Kingston, PA, in zone 6, according to your map. There are no deciduous trees nearby, and there is a prevailing wind from the north-west.

SpatzieLover-
When you say “over-mulch”, does that mean I need to cut the plant back before I mulch it? If so, when should I do that? Tonight, before the first hard frost, or just before it snows? Also, the plants are about 3 feet tall, so I can’t realistically mulch them without cutting them down.

Thank you both for your help. :-)

Before it snows it can be useful to put a bit of straw or mulch over the plants to protect them from a harsh freeze. However, knowing you live in zone 6, my recommendation would be to mulch at the base of the plants if you haven’t already.

@Dan_DeColumna: The link I sent you is inaccurate. Let me check Kingston, PA for you.

An easier way is to talk to your neighbors who garden or to the local gardening center. Back in a jiffy.

The plant is rated for zone 5 and you’re in zone 6, it should do fine tonight.

@SpatzieLover: I will mulch the base of the plants right now. Although, just to clarify, do I, at any point, actually cut the plant down? Or, do I just leave it standing through the winter? Thank you!

@Gailcalled: I would talk to my neighbors or the gardening centers, but the former are in bed (that kind of neighborhood) and the latter are closed. I appreciate you looking for me, Gailcalled.

@Njnyjobs: Alrighty, at least I don’t have to worry about them dying tonight.

Thanks for your time, everyone. :-)

If you’re expecting a frost tonight, at your leisure over the next few days, you will want to cut the plants back to about 6” above the soil line. That is the part that will freeze and turn to mush anyway. Then you can mulch or not, depending on your energy.

I put my perennial gardens to bed by cutting everything down to 6” or so above the soil line. I am too lazy to bother mulching; if stuff can’t over winter, tough.

You can talk to your neighbors or the landscaping centers tomorrow, Dan. The tops will die but if you’re really in zone 6, the root system (which is what matters) will survive the winter and send up beautiful and magical fresh green sprouts next spring.

Actually, my personal choice is to leave my fountain grasses long for winter. That is a personal choice.

Guara can be trimmed or left as is. They are easy care plants…meaning you can plant them, lightly water (as they are a drought tolerant variety) and leave them be.

I just looked on another site to see more photos and realized I have these in one of my front beds. I do nothing special to them. I do mulch the bed that they are located in yearly. Other than that, I rarely water, feed or trim them.

care recommendation for this plant….

Gaura will require very little care after planting. But you can follow these tips to keep them in top shape: During especially dry summers, water the plants once a week (gaura is very tolerant of humidity and heat and it is best grown in hot dry climates). In late fall, prune the older stems all the way down to the soil level. Then in the spring use some organic fertilizer, following the instructions listed on the package. Although gaura is hardy, for best results give it a top coating of manure or leaves that are just about to start molding.

The Siskiyou Pink variety will need to be pruned a lot to keep it from overgrowing, otherwise it gets wild and scruffy looking. Before spring give it a major pruning, then another at the end of winter. It may need another trimming again if blooming periodically stops. Deadheading or cutting off old flower spikes will encourage new blooms and prolong the blooming period. Pruning while the plants are young will also produce a fuller look with the blooms being more well-balanced.

source: http://www.onlinediscountmart.com/growing-gaura.html

v v GA for asking source??? what’s with that?

^^ Source?

This is helpful:

“Gaura has few disease or insect problems, and deer don’t like to eat it. In Zone 6 and above, winter preparation will simply be cutting off old flower spikes. In Zone 5 heavy mulch should be applied over the basal rosette after the ground is frozen. Source

Alrighty! Thank you all so much! I’m going to quickly mulch them for now, and tomorrow I’ll cut off all the old flower spikes. Then, sometime after the ground freezes, I’ll cut them back to about 6’’ and heavy mulch them. Again, thank you all! Super awesome responses!
Sincerely,
-Dan

Sorry, one of the GAs for asking for the link was partly my fault. Frankly, I was so please with the fact that people were giving me intelligent answers, that I blanketed the entire question. My bad. Sorry.

@Dan_DeColumna: Unless you are doing it for cosmetic reasons, you can wait and cut them back to 6” just once.

And I would talk to your neighbors; they are often the best source of gardening information. People love to talk about their gardens. And gardeners love to give you baby plants or seeds or rootings or bulblets. After you have some gardener friends, you need never spend money again for plants.

GA or not, it is considered good form to give a source if you are quoting something.

Well, I am looking for answers as well. My pink fountain gaura is dying in winter. This has happened more than once. I live in zone 6, I cut them back & even cover them with buckets, don’t know what else to do. I love these plants, but they’re a little pricey to replace every year, not to mention the work. Any suggestions would be most welcome.