Preparing Plants for Winter – Staying Bold, Despite the Cold
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| Photo Credit: Pascal Castellazzi/fotolia.com |
| Some basic fall gardening tasks can help your plants survive winter’s cold blasts – especially when there’s not a beautiful insulating blanket of snow. |
Nothing will allow Minnesota gardeners to grow palm trees outdoors year-round, but they can make sure marginally cold-hardy plants will survive year after year in their yards. Heck, even if you plant only very cold-hardy selections for your region, all it takes is one nasty, harsh winter to take down your garden if the plants aren’t up to the challenge. Fortunately, with some good basic gardening techniques, you can help all your plants – marginally hardy or natives to the cold – get through the bitterest of seasons in excellent health:
● Ensure good drainage. Few plants will survive a winter if their roots are encased in ice – which is what happens if water doesn’t readily drain away. So be sure to work in plenty of compost and other soil amendments at planting time, and dig down a few to several inches below the plant to assure better drainage. Raised beds and planting on slopes are also excellent ways to ensure good drainage. ● Plant in protected sites. Those selections that are marginally cold-hardy in your region should be placed somewhere out of the blasting north wind. The south or east side of a building or fence is usually ideal. Just be aware that if you plant on a very sunny south side of a building, a little shade is helpful. This helps prevent sunscald and winter burn. | Add Photo to Journal |  | | Photo Credit: Hallgerd/fotolia.com | | Even evergreens can be damaged by winter freezes, so it pays to plant them in a protected spots and wrap new plantings to prevent winter burn (and other problems). |
● Protect new plants with wrapping. For the first year or two, baby your new evergreens by wrapping them loosely in burlap in fall a week or two after your region’s first hard frost. Remove the wrap in spring as soon as the crocuses come up. Also wrap the trunks of newly planted trees with special brown tree wrap for the first 2-3 years. This prevents sunscald, as well as stops wildlife from nibbling on the bark.
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| Facts |
- The US Department of Agriculture has divided the country into hardiness zones, based on the average lowest temperatures of different regions. Most plants that are sold are labeled with the USDA hardiness zones they’ll grow best in, but this only helps if you know which zone you live in.
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| Faqs |
- Q: What’s a “marginally hardy” plant?
A: A marginally hardy plant is one that isn’t likely to survive in your neck of the woods without extra care. For example, if you live in USDA hardiness Zone 4, a marginally hardy plant could be a selection that’s only hardy to Zone 5. But with the right care and shelter, a gardener can likely coax it into surviving most of the region’s winters. Even with extra care and protection, however, don’t expect plants that are hardy to Zone 6 (or warmer) to be able to survive a Zone 4 winter. - Q: What’s the difference between short- and long-lived perennials?
A: Short-lived perennials tend to last 3 or 4 years before dying, usually due to less-than-perfect growing conditions. Long-lived perennials last for several to many years – sometimes even decades. Think of those peonies or daylilies you see growing on a lot where a home once stood. They outlasted the house!
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