Few things send a chill up a gardener’s spine as much as knowing your garden is not prepared for a winter freeze. Some of us may have not yet taken the precautions we meant to after the last bout of frozen rain and frigid winds. Unless you are diligent about preparing your garden for the perils of a Northwest winter, it‘s likely that you will suffer some form of weather-related damage.
Cold temperatures can kill off half-hardy and tender shrubs and perennials. Poorly drained, freezing-wet soil can destroy even the toughest garden plants. Unexpected snows can break off branches and split established evergreen hedges. Sometimes, it’s a situation unique to your personal garden that catches you off guard.
If you have densely branched, coniferous evergreen shrubs and hedges in your garden, it pays to wrap a heavy twine or light wire through the interior branches to keep the plant from splaying open under the weight of snow or icy rains. Take the time to wrap the plant so that the main branches are loosely tied together and the material used is hidden in the foliage. Make sure that the person who trims the plants in spring and summer can do so without cutting into this support system.
We should all know by now that a morning frost in the midst of January and February is as likely as springtime rain. Still, I am always being asked what to do if the gardener did not prepare ahead. Here I revert to my favorite method of gardening: “Go outside and do what needs to be done now.” I find this method most productive when I don’t have a specific chore set for the day.
Although most of us clean up the garden in late fall, removing spent foliage and other debris, plant material continues to decline throughout the winter months. Make a midwinter sweep of beds and borders. Cut away spent foliage and as you do so, take a good look at the crown of individual plants. You want to make sure that the crown is well rooted, as well as insect and disease free.
I like to carry a bucket of compost with me and add a protective layer around each plant as I cut back foliage. Newly planted perennials may heave out of the soil as temperatures change, loosening roots from the soil. As you add mulch, use the heel of your foot or hand to firm the roots back into the ground.
To protect plants that I added to the garden this past autumn, I cover them with an inverted pulp pot for their first winter. Pulp pots, like the ones used in hanging summer baskets, are inexpensive and offer protection from the harsher elements of winter such as freezing wind and sleety rain. They blend in well with winter garden colors and if you cut out the bottom (the top when turned over to protect the plant), the plants will still benefit from natural rain and winter sunlight.
Certain plants that are considered hardy in the garden might still benefit from a little extra protection by performing earlier in the spring season than those left unprotected. In my garden, hardy fuchsia, daphne and some varieties of hebe flower earlier in spring or summer if protected in the winter. Pulp pots are perfect as an added protection for any half-hardy or tender shrubs and perennials.
Recently, I noticed damage to the leaves of some Coral Bells and hardy Primrose in my garden that would normally carry foliage through the winter. Deer, rabbits, mice and other garden critters love to eat this attractive foliage in the cold months of the year. Consider using decorative wire or natural fiber baskets, turned upside down over the top of a plant’s crown, to protect them from foraging wildlife. They are practical and add another level of winter interest to the garden.
If the sporadic onset of winter has kept you in a state of denial, your garden will still benefit from the protection and precautions you put in place now. While you are thinking about it, check on the drainage of any potted garden plants that remain outdoors all year. Over time, even pots with large drainage holes can become blocked. Clear the blockage from these planters and from your mind, knowing that winter protection always pays off in the end.
Robb Rosser is a WSU-certified Master Gardener. Reach him at Write2Robb@aol.com.
