How To Winterize Your Yard & Garden
After death and taxes, there’s one more thing you can count on: winter is coming. If you’ve worked hard making a beautiful garden during the warm months, the last thing you want to do is see all your hard work come undone during winter’s cold months.
While it’s not most gardeners’ favorite season, it has it’s own form of beauty to be appreciated, especially if we take some time ahead before the days get too short and chilly to get ready for it. So what’s the best ways to winterize your garden? Read on to find out, along with some backstory about winter itself.
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But first, a little winter backstory...
In the parts of the world that experience four seasons, cultures have been trying to explain them since civilization began. The ancient Greeks explained the origin of winter and the seasons through a story involving appropriately enough, pomegranates. Hades, god of the Underworld, fell in love with Persephone when seeing her out gathering flowers. He made the earth split open and whisked her away on his chariot down into the Underworld. Persephone eventually grew to love the cold and lonely Hades (and being queen of the Underworld) but also missed her mother, Demeter, goddess of agriculture as well as the sunlit world above.
Persephone knew that if she ate or drank anything from the Underworld, she would never be allowed to return above, although Hades continually tried to tempt her of course. Meanwhile back on the earth’s surface, Demeter was inconsolable and caused the earth to turn cold and stop growing. She never gave up the search for Persephone, eventually discovering her whereabouts and insisting upon her return.
Resigned to bringing her back, Hades offered Persephone one last blood red pomegranate. She looked him in the eyes and ate 3 seeds. As a result, she had to return to the Underworld for 3 months out of the year. During that time, Demeter grieves and so winter comes. When Persephone returns, her mother rejoices and the world is warm and in bloom again.
In more modern terms, winter is a time of rest for many plants and some animals. In garden-speak, we call it dormancy. When the days get shorter and the temperatures cooler, this is a signal that winter is coming. Plants begin to slow their growth and instead transfer sugars and carbohydrates from their leaves to their root systems to see them through the chilly winter months.
Why Do Leaves Change Colors?
Leaves change color because the green pigments from chlorophyll compounds (they help turn sunlight energy into chemical “plant food” energy) in the leaves break down revealing yellow to orange-ish colors behind which are masked most of the year by the larger proportion of green. Also red to purple pigments, sometimes very intense, are produced in some plants through the seasonal development of red anthocyanin pigments.
To plant or not to plant - gardening for your climate zone. Or not.
So how can we help our plants get ready for winter?
Well for starters, we can help out our landscape by using plants well adapted to our local climate. This reduces winter prep-work and helps keep the garden looking good year round. When we’re talking about this, more often than not, we mean cold tolerance. Plants that are cold-sensitive or otherwise unsuited to our local climate cause us to have to fuss with them more to protect them, and then tolerate their less than pleasing appearance while they recover from the damage done by whatever weather-related condition they’re responding to. (That’s assuming they do recover.)
And it’s not just the cold or frost tender plants we need to worry about. Anything newly planted may be at risk because it lacks an established root system to recover from the cold shock.
But speaking of cold-sensitive, how many of us have those plants in our landscape where we know we’re pushing the envelope by planting, but we love them and think we can’t live without them, so we do it anyway, and then try to coddle them through the cold, hoping upon hope they’ll make it through and live to grow another season. (Come on - let’s see a show of hands!)
For me its my bougainvillea, which actually came with my house, yet doesn’t readily grow in Napa since we get frost. It survives (and even thrives) because it grows against an inset, south-facing wall even though it gets knocked back hard every winter.
For other fellow gardeners, it may be succulents, citrus, camellias, magnolias, pomegranates, or any number of arguably inappropriate others. Yet so often we just can’t help ourselves.
For every growing zone, there are gardeners in that zone pining for a plant that just doesn’t thrive where they are. (I’m looking at you Jacaranda with your beautiful blue-violet petals!) I understand and I feel your pain.
Jacaranda mimosifolia tree. Stunning in Southern CA, but almost non-existent in Northern CA since they just don’t thrive here. Photo by Brian Breeden on Unsplash
Human nature being what it is, in these situations we often try to bend nature to our will. People get industrious and do what they’ve done for millennia; they try to manipulate the genetic makeup of name-that-desired-yet-unattainable-plant and breed it to tolerate whatever it can’t tolerate.
I was (briefly) a fellow at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, PA, where they had established a breeding research program for cold-tolerant Camellias in the 1960s. Guess what? After a whole lotta work, two of the cold-hardiest camellias, Camellia 'Longwood Centennial' and 'Longwood Valentine' are the result, bringing beauty and joy to no doubt many cold-weather inhabiting garden fans! Kind of amazing when you think about it.
Going out on a limb here though and assuming most of us aren’t going to embark on our own backyard breeding program. Instead, we can choose to (mostly) plant appropriately for our environment, and we can help the landscape and container plants we select by preparing them for the winter months. So let’s get on with it.
Winter Garden Preparation & Care
A well maintained winter landscape has it’s own form of atmospheric beauty as seen at the Boston Public Garden. Photo by Daniel Brubaker on Unsplash
WEED TO PREVENT SEED OVER-WINTERING
Root out the last of summer and fall’s weeds. Don’t give them the chance to set seed and overwinter (or overwinter and set seed) and then take over your beds come spring.
PRUNE DURING DORMANCY
WOODY TREES & SHRUBS - Prune lightly and late in the season once a few frosts have happened and the plant is dormant. The goal is to avoid pruning while the tree or shrub is still growing and stimulate a flush of new growth that will be zapped by winter frost or snow.
For the same reasons, reduce fertilizer at this time of year. Stop fertilizing plants about six weeks before the first frost. Again, you don’t want to stimulate late-season growth. It won’t be as hardy and will be more susceptible when cold weather hits.
Shrubs with persistent fruit or brightly colored branches and stems such as rose-hips, red-twig dogwood, holly, and winterberries provide winter interest and food for wildlife. They can be lightly pruned as needed and used for seasonal arrangements and wreaths.
Prune only to remove branches and foliage that might contain disease or weak growth that might die back or be damaged by snow load.
When and how to do the main pruning of a plant is a large topic unto itself, and there are different guidelines depending upon the plant type and goal. For winter prep purposes though, less is more or not at all, with a few exceptions:
HERBACEOUS PERENNIALS - “If foliage is brown, cut it down.” Non-woody perennials and ornamental grasses that die back should be cut back when dormant, either in winter or early spring.
GRASSES - The the dormant blades and seed heads can provide subtly beautiful winter interest, especially when fringed with frost or snow, plus the seed heads feed birds, so you certainly may want to hold off on cutting them back until early spring.
Be sure to cut them back before new growth starts though, otherwise it’s impossible to to prune out the dead, brown foliage from the vibrant new growth.
Pro-Tip: An easy way to cut back ornamental grasses is to tie the bunch together with a piece of garden twine, cut below with a pair of pruning shears or I use an old serrated knife sometimes, and toss it all on the compost heap. Winter haircut done!
MULCH FOR WINTER INSULATION
Landscape plants do better with regulated cold temperatures instead of extreme freeze-thaw cycles. Mulch helps moderate temperature fluctuations by insulating tender roots. Protect plants with 2 to 4 inches of organic mulch to help regulate soil temperatures.
Leaf litter can make excellent (and free!) mulch. This is great news if you’re like me and appreciate any justification for not doing chores.
Leaf litter provides insulation for tender roots and eventually, food for the plant when the leaf-mulch breaks down. The exception are roses and fruit trees. Their leaves tend to house mold and fungus pathogens, which bide their time until spring comes around to wreak havoc on your plants, so keep them raked.
Help insulate plants against cold winter temperatures with 2 to 4 inches of organic mulch in planting beds. Image by Manfred Richter from Pixabay
SHRUB FROST BLANKET PROTECTION
WRAP & COVER
Roses like hybrid teas need extra protection at the tender graft union. There’s more than method out there to winterize roses, but I’ll describe one:
First prune canes back, leaving 3 to 5 of the most vigorous canes, and leaving at least three healthy buds on each. Remove leaves but keep rose hips. (or use in an arrangement!)
Rake up leaves since rose leaves can harbor plant disease. Place a rose collar or cone around the base and fill with insulating leaves for protection. Wrap burlap and secure with twine for additional protection. Rose collars and burlap are also useful for protection against hungry gnawing critters and winter sunburn.
WATERING FOR WINTER
EVERGREENS - Evergreens and conifers are more vulnerable than deciduous trees and shrubs. They lose more water due to drying winds and winter sun and can’t easily replace the water if the ground is frozen. Cold-climate evergreens will benefit from an extra-deep final watering before the ground freezes.
Evergreens/conifers can also benefit from an anti-transpirant like Wilt-Stop.
Anti-transpirants are a waxy coating you spray on plants that reduces the amount of water that transpires, or is lost, through their leaves.
I used to work for a company that produced an anti-transpirant, and I’d spray it on my Christmas tree every year to keep it from drying out as fast. I also applied it to the live greenery over my front door last year. As bloggers, we have to deck the halls early to publish our posts, so I do what I can to keep the greenery fresh!
DECIDUOUS - Deciduous trees and shrubs are cold-weather adapted by losing their leaves and going dormant. Mature trees and shrubs adapted to your growing region shouldn’t need extra protection, but young and newly planted trees can benefit. Keep watering them thoroughly into fall, since their roots haven’t had a chance to fully establish yet, and apply a 2” to 4” layer of mulch for insulation.
WINTERIZING CONTAINERS
Plants in the ground are at an advantage over plants in containers since ground soil temperatures stay warmer, keeping roots better insulated. Without the insulation provided by the in-ground soil, many plants that would survive planted in the garden will die in a container.
One rule of thumb is that to survive in a container, you need to use a plant that’s rated for two zones colder than your own, i.e., if you live in zone 7, your potted plant needs to be able to make it in the ground in zone 5.
House plants that summered outside need to come inside, and anything likely to be cold or frost sensitive needs to also be protected. Finding space can be a challenge, but even the garage or basement works if it has some natural light coming in.
If no indoor space is available, containers can be placed against a south facing wall and grouped together with the most cold-sensitive against the wall behind the others. Container plants can be covered with burlap or tarps which will give them a couple degrees of warmth which may make the difference between survival or not, depending on the plant and your climate.
WINTERIZING GARDEN FURNITURE AND DECOR
1. First, give your furniture and cushions a good cleaning. This can prevent corrosion and staining during the wet, cold, off-season.
2. Iron patio furniture in particular is often high quality, but has the potential to rust even if it’s painted. So do a rust check and then use a rust cleaner to get rid of any corrosion, touch up scratches with metal-appropriate paint, and then apply a coat of car wax for extra protection before storing it for winter.
3. Bring grills and furniture inside the garage or basement if possible, or cover them up with fitted outdoor furniture covers.
- Here's the one I bought for my dining table: waterproof outdoor dining set cover on Amazon
- This brand carries several sofa sizes: waterproof outdoor sofa cover on Amazon
4. Water Features - Remove plants if needed. Drain water from all lines of the features you are shutting down for the winter. Drain your features before the first frost so that any water left will evaporate from the lines. You may want to remove a water pump altogether and store it inside since any remaining water in the pump can freeze and expand, causing cracks and damage.
Now that your garden’s tucked in, it’s settled for a long winter’s nap.
After doing all the hard work, its time to reward yourself with a warm cuppa something (coffee, tea, adult-beverage-of-choice) and sit on the sofa under a cozy blanket while taking in the serene and contemplative beauty of the winter landscape.
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