Winter Plant Care for Beginners

Enjoying a thriving garden during the warmer months is one of the joys of homeownership, but when the warmth of the summer sun fades and colder temperatures set in, will your garden survive the winter? Garden care is not a seasonal task. It is a year-round one and that means protecting plants from the cold. Understanding the importance of winter plant care and learning how best to take care of plants throughout the colder months allows you to enjoy a thriving garden all year round.

Let’s learn to keep your garden healthy through every season by taking a deeper look at:

• Winter plant damage
• What plants are most susceptible and why
• How to protect plants during cold weather
• Practical winter care steps and tips

Understanding Winter Damage

The first step in protecting plants from the cold is to understand how winter damage affects your garden. Winter damage is a general term for different types of damage that can happen to trees, shrubs, and plants as a result of cold temperatures and harsh weather conditions.

Different types of winter damage include:

• Frost or cold temperature injury – damage to buds, limbs, branches, stems, bark, or roots caused by low winter temperatures, especially if temperatures drop rapidly
• Winter burn, drying, or desiccation – Excessive drying during cold, yet sunny weather caused by an inability of plants to replenish moisture to limbs due to the frozen ground. Effects mostly evergreen plants causing browning, discoloration, or needle detachment
• Heavy snow and ice – bent, broken, or brittle branches caused by heavy snow or ice build-up

Signs of winter damage on plants may not be visible or apparent until spring arrives. Being proactive in winter plant care can help avoid winter damage, even if you cannot see it at the time.

Which Plants Need Protection?

Certain plants do well in certain types of climates. It is best to match the plants in your garden with the plant varieties suitable for the weather conditions you most experience. If you live in an area that experiences cold, harsh winters, you should choose hardier trees, shrubs and perennials that can survive colder, snowier conditions. If you live in a milder climate, you can get away with planting less hardier varieties.

Hardiness Zones

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has split the United States into different hardiness zones. The lower the number on the zone scale the more likely the area is to experience a colder temperature range. The higher the number, the hotter the temperature range.

For example, the northernmost regions of Minnesota are rated in zone three while the middle of Minnesota is zone four and the southernmost part of the state reaches into zone five. Zone three can experience temperatures as cold as negative 35 while in zone five it is more like negative 15. This means that the lower the zone number, the hardier the plants need to be to have the best chance of surviving the winter. The USDA provides detailed hardiness zone maps for you to pinpoint the zone for where you live.

Annuals and Perennials

Annuals are basically plants that are planted annually in the spring, grow throughout the growing season, and then are expected to die off during winter and be seasonally replaced again. Perennials, on the other hand, are planted to be more permanently a part of your landscape, even your winter garden, and you need to know how to protect plants in winter that you expect to grow again come spring. Perennials in your area may need frost protection, plants deemed annuals usually do not once the growing season is over.

However, depending on your hardiness zone, annuals in a lower numbered zone may actually be perennials in a higher numbered zone as the weather does not get as cold and plants can survive with a little extra care.

Make sure to choose perennial plants that are hardy enough to survive the winter conditions in your climate. More tender plants, such as zinnias, cosmos, or sunflowers are best left as annual accents instead of expecting them to survive the winter.

Common Plants, Trees, or Shrubs that Need Winter Care

Rose bushes, hydrangeas, peonies, columbine, irises, coneflowers, aster, hostas, and daylilies will survive as perennials during harsh winters, but do require a little care in order to do so. Also, young trees, shrubs, and bushes need winter protection as their root systems are not as strong to survive as easily. Fruit trees, arborvitae, and upright evergreens may also need protection during cold weather.

Practical Steps for Winter Plant Care

Timing is Key

Cold weather gardening is all about preparation and timing. If the first frost hits, it is too late to be preparing your winter garden. Your work needs to be done before the first frost.

Protection Methods

Learning how to save plants from frost damage and cold weather conditions includes different protection methods.

Covering

Covering plants during the winter months can offer extra protection from the elements. The best way to cover plants for winter is to use the proper cover for the right job. Different coverings include blankets, burlap, or row covers. These materials act as a barrier from the cold and help plants retain heat. It is important, however, that the coverings are not too tight and breath as to not encourage the growth of fungal diseases. Plants should also be uncovered during warmer, sunnier days so they receive natural sunlight as well.

Mulching

Mulch is an insulator that can protect plant roots during the winter months. There are different types of mulch available, ranging from organic materials such as wood chips, hay, straw or inorganic materials such as gravel and rocks. Make sure your mulch is not laid too close to the plant’s stem as this can cause rot. It should also be evenly distributed throughout the garden about five centimeters thick.

Watering

The main thing to know about how to water plants in winter is two-fold. One, winter plants do have reduced watering needs during the winter months, but two, they can experience dry spells that require watering. Monitoring their watering needs throughout the winter can help give them water when needed and reduce watering when not.

Fertilizing

“Should I fertilize plants in winter?” is a typical winter gardening question, and the general answer is, “no.” As fertilization is done to spur plant growth, it is logical to not spur growth during months when plants are meant to remain dormant. This dormant time is important for plant health and fertilizing during this stage can do more harm than good.

Container Plants

Protecting potted plants from freezing can be difficult as their roots are not as protected in a container as they are in the ground. One way to protect container plants during the winter months is to bring them indoors, taking care they get enough sunlight and water within their indoor setting. If you experience milder winters, but still have cold spells or frost, providing insulation for your containers, grouping them together for added warmth, placing them closer to the house for added protection and keeping them out of the way of cold winds can increase their chances of winter survival.

Read More: How to Winterize a Lawn

Identifying and Addressing Winter Damage

If your plants do sustain winter damage, knowing how to identify and address it can help you continue to keep your garden healthy.

Visual Cues of Winter Damage

Many plants can become brown and droopy during the winter months, but this does not necessarily mean they have been damaged. It is often just a dormant stage before old growth falls off and new growth sprouts forth. So how do you tell if your plants or shrubs have sustained winter damage?

It is best to not access damage until the weather starts to turn warm in the spring and you can see if new growth is starting. A careful look at wilting leaves or discolored bark can help you determine if there is growth just below the surface. If in the spring a plant looks fine and then suddenly turns brown or silvery-green, the roots may have been damaged.

Tips for Helping Plants Recover

If you discover your plants have sustained damage, pruning and extra care can help them recover. Dead or damaged tissue should be removed. Cut shrubs and trees just above the healthy growth point and trim dead stems from perennials about an inch above the ground line.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

To keep your garden in tip-top shape, avoid these common mistakes for winter garden care:

• Overwatering during dormant periods
• Fertilizing too late in the season
• Using the wrong type of protective covering
• Pruning at the wrong time

Remember, protecting plants from the cold is important, but there are also benefits to cold weather for some plants. A winter garden is a time for dormancy and a chance for plants, trees, and shrubs to rejuvenate and gather strength for the coming spring, when new growth and vibrancy returns.

Winter Plant Care and Your Thriving Garden

Protecting plants from the cold and establishing good winter plant care routines will help you limit winter damage and allow for a healthy, thriving garden you can enjoy. Proper winter plant care prepares your garden for the coming spring, when growth returns. For more tips and expert advice on keeping your garden healthy year-round, contact Tracer Pool and Landscape.