Frost Heaving

by Doug
(Somewhere in his garden)

I've included these two pictures to show you the effects of a poor fall establishment of these perennial flowers.

If you look closely, you'll see spaces between the original small pot and the surrounding soil. And, you'll see that the potted area is slightly raised from surrounding soil.

We call this heaving.

To prevent this frost heaving and to ensure your plants become well-established, you have to make sure that your perennials are either planted earlier in the fall (these were a late planting) or tease the roots apart if they were root bound in the pot.

Either of these two conditions will reduce the survival rate of a fall–planted perennial flower.

I usually "fix" this in the spring (if the plant is still alive) but stepping or leaning on the sides of the plant to force it back down into contact with the soil. If you hesitate to be this drastic, then you can water forcefully to push the soil back into contact with the rootball or whatever system of pressure or water you decide you can take. The important thing is to get those roots back into contact with the soil.

Now you know.