Agriculture
Saving Plants in Winter Season
SAVING PLANTS IN WINTER SEASON
I am saving plants in the winter season. The weather in winter is unpredictable. Unexpected cold snaps and frequently changing temperatures, especially in the South, can hurt landscaping plants.
A few simple chores can help preserve plants, reduce damage.
SAVING PLANTS IN WINTER SEASON
Guidelines;
1. Spread a layer of mulch. Mulch is a garden miracle worker at any time of year and an essential component of winter care. Consider mulch to be a blanket that protects the garden from the elements during the winter. A typical winter problem is a soil heaving or uplift produced by freeze-thaw cycles. Soil heaving can physically lift shallow-rooted plants, such as heuchera and gaillardia, out of the earth, exposing their vulnerable crowns and roots to frigid temperatures. Mulch helps to keep soils consistently cool, reducing disruptive freeze-thaw cycles.
2. Watering during the winter It may seem senseless to water gardens when many plants are dormant, but there are several solid reasons to do so.
Evergreen trees and bushes lose much water during cold, dry weather, especially on windy days. If rainfall is insufficient, these plants require additional irrigation at least once per month during the winter to keep soils moist.
3. Guard Sensitive Trees Trees with thin or smooth bark may benefit from a trunk wrap in late fall to protect against a condition known as southwest damage or sunburn. This sort of damage is produced by the freezing and thawing of water in the trunk and appears on the southwest section of the trunk that is exposed to the warm afternoon light.
4. Container Plants in Winter Some plants may survive winter in pots, but others need protection. We use USDA winter hardiness ratings to identify plants that can withstand our winter temperatures when planting in the garden.