1.   A foot and a half high and at least as wide, my mounds appear suddenly after the ground freezes.

2.   After the first frost, cut the leaves down to two inches and mulch after the ground freezes for protection against their heaving up out of the soil.

3.   Clean up fallen leaves, prune infected canes and put mulch around the roses after the ground freezes.

4.   Fall planting, about six weeks before the ground freezes, gives these critical roots time to grow.

5.   Following is a checklist of things you may need to do before the ground freezes and is buried under a foot of snow.

6.   If they are not under restrictions, gardeners should be out there watering their most precious plants before the ground freezes.

7.   Keep watering until the ground freezes, which in some cases can be in January.

8.   Leeks should be dug by early winter, before the ground freezes solid.

9.   Let the ground freeze hard, leave it for six weeks, then mulch to prevent erosion.

10.   Make sure they go into winter well watered, and, for protection, cover them with evergreen boughs after the ground freezes.