I have been gardening in Southwest Washington long enough to recognize a consistent pattern in our variable weather over the years.
One phenomenon of our Northwest climate is a distinct interlude of rain-free, sunny weather in mid-February, just like what we’re seeing this week. Since I keep a garden journal, I have it on record that we experience a period of spring-like weather every year before lapsing back into winter conditions.
I look forward to this short respite, so sure it would come again this year that I planned a project with a friend in her garden.
This seasonal reprieve typically lasts for five to ten days. Like the Indian summer of mid-autumn, this is an unseasonable period of warm days and clear skies. While Indian summer is a fleeting reminder of sunny days gone by, the February interval is a prelude to days yet to come. Both are brief and delightful.
In the Pacific Northwest, we anticipate four distinct seasons over the span of each year. However, even as one single day can transition from rain to fog to sun breaks, our seasons fade in and out, especially during the first and last weeks of each specific season. Even our veteran meteorologists act as if they won Olympic gold when they hit a bull’s-eye weather forecast.
Knowing all this, you would think we would learn to prepare for the vagaries of our climate ahead of time. Nevertheless, gardening friends tell me every day that they were not prepared for the winter weather we have had so far. Most say that they just did not have time or that they never expected the coldest weeks of winter to come before Thanksgiving.
If you are one of many who still have some winter preparations to do in your garden, I am happy to tell you that you have another chance to redeem yourself this month. Make a plan to wrap tall, slender conifers with a thin wire or heavy twine so that wind and snow will not split the plant in two. One light snowfall can ruin the ultimate shape of an upright yew or a row of arborvitae.
If your conifers did split open in one of the earlier winter storms this year, take advantage of the fair days ahead to insert a sturdy stake in the ground to give them support and use twine to hold the branches together until the plant can recover its shape. Torn or split branches should be removed below the tear. If you haven’t done it yet, drape tender plants in burlap or stow them in the garage or greenhouse for the rest of winter.
Last year, I lost an established Japanese maple to the first snowfall of the season. There were still leaves on the tree and snow could not fall through the branches. The weight of snow split the tree in two before the next morning.
After a heavy snowfall, it is best to remove snow from young or delicate trees and shrubs before damage is done. Use the bristle part of a long-handled broom and tap from underneath, not from above.
One of the gardener’s primary jobs in winter is to keep plants in a state of dormancy. This is especially true for tender and half-hardy plants.
We must prevent the roots of our plants from freezing or allowing the soil to heave around the roots. Extremely cold temperatures can damage the roots and crowns of plants. If you left plants such as New Zealand flax or Canna in the ground, keep them protected until mid April by adding a few inches of mulch or compost.
Potted plants such as tender begonias, geraniums and fuchsias should remain in their winter storage area until spring has come to stay. Check these plants periodically for water. They should be barely moist and very well drained, so they are not standing in water. This also applies to perennials, needle-leafed evergreens, broad-leafed evergreens and trees planted out in the garden this past autumn.
Last month I reminded everyone to carry a bucket of compost into the garden to replenish winter mulch where it was needed. I realized that I have not done that job in my own garden for a few years now, and perhaps that played a part in the number of plants I lost to winter weather in the last couple of years.
If you are unable to take advantage of this week’s weather, I recommend you brave the weather and do what needs to be done. Despite the look of things and the yearning of our sunny spirits, winter is not over yet.
Robb Rosser is a WSU-certified Master Gardener. Reach him at Write2Robb@aol.com.
