It looks like I do just about what you do. I don't fertilize at all,
though. Adding compost and other amendments over the years has done the
job. When plants grow, the really grow! But the winter losses have got
me. I don't mulch in the winter. But the earth does get very dry,
especially this year with not much snow. I don't water before winter as
another here has suggested because I'm afraid the roots will rot.

"Val" wrote in message
...
I had huge, beautiful perennial beds when I lived in NW Montana and the
winters would have been much harsher than yours, I would assume. Other than
my window boxes I didn't plant annuals. I never fertilized the first year I
planted divisions. I amended the spot with screened compost, planted
divisions, watered well, no fertilizing. I also didn't mulch my flower
beds. I'm of the 'survival of the fittest' school. They all seemed to
survive just fine. Perennials establish roots the first year they are in
the ground. If you fertilize for lush top growth they don't put down the
heavy root growth they need, or so I was told during my gardening infancy
and that seemed to always work for me. For established perennials I stopped
fertilizing the last weekend of July no matter what their bloom cycle was.
July was also the month I put down the last compost for the year. I cut
back on watering the end of August. I also never cut any plants back in the
fall except the very tall ones, like hollyhock and delphinium, and those I
only cut back by half. I did cleaning and grooming as soon as the snow
melted off and boots didn't sink knee deep in the Spring thaw mud. Maybe
you are being 'too kind' to your new divisions.

Val

"Eric" wrote in message
. ..
I have a large perennial garden here in zone 5. I am losing many plants
per year over the winter and all varieties are well suited to zone 5.
Most of the divisions I made from larger plants were lost over the winter
and these were large healthy growing plants. This past winter, the winter
was mild here in southern New York and I still lost a lot of plants. Any
ideas?