Protecting Your Greenery This Winter

The preparation for winter in the garden starts now

. Theres nothing more deflating than nursing new shoots to bloom in spring to watch them struck down by Jack Frost and his freezing temperatures when winter rolls around. The British seasons can be the worst enemy of even the most innovative horticulturist, with its slap bang April frosts and its November bursts of warmth. Preparation is the key to ensuring the survival and success of the greenery in your garden.

Even those plants and trees that you deem hardy enough to soldier through the twilight months can be struck down by a sudden and unexpected temperature drop. You also have to account for the maturity of the plant, it may be able to withstand extreme temperatures later in life but in its infancy it will be significantly less resistant.

Before embarking upon any of these protective measures, be sure to take some healthy clippings of your plant life in case the worst happens. Storing them effectively and healthily should mean you can at least start with a developed root when the frost peals, else youll never see that plant again in its current form.

Young trees should be protected by wrapping their trunks in a layer of straw or hay. Construct a four point fence around the trunk by pushing bamboo cane into the ground, then wrap chicken wire around these points fastening tightly on a corner. The more material you can fill this void with, the better. Straw is a fantastic insulator and promotes air circulation to prevent moisture build-up.

Whilst bubble and plastic wrap may be a more practical option for smaller and more delicate stalk wrapping, be sure to remove it if you experience a period of warm weather. The impermeable material will develop condensation which will be trapped and contained within. The combination of warm conditions with sitting water will be prohibitive to your efforts, encouraging rot and decay which are the last things you want in the dark depths of December.

Your lawn is just as pervious to frost as your plant life, but there a few techniques to give it a fighting chance throughout the winter. Watering it before a frost may seem counterproductive, but once the ground has frozen that grass wont be able to draw any moisture from the soil around it and could perish as a result. Pay attention to the forecast and try to anticipate when the worst weather is about to set in. You want to avoid watering your lawn the night before the freeze, but give it plenty of nourishment in the weeks running up to one.

If youve watered your lawn and you wake up the next morning to a frost, dont be disheartened. The ice now formed on the grass will insulate it from the worst of the cold, just as snow will do. If youre lucky enough to have a blanket of snow in the coldest of winter, dont clear it. It will act, strangely enough, to regulate the temperature of the grass beneath it and maintain the lawn.

Plants with roots near the surface of the ground will need some protection at that level. Putting down a few inches of mulch has a couple of benefits. Firstly it will provide the airy insulation that could potentially prevent that area of ground from frosting. Secondly as the mulch breaks down over the winter it will inevitably deliver the organic nutrient kick that the shivering plants will so desperately need. Bark chips are a good way to go, but shredded leaves are the best if you can get your hands on them.

by: Holly Garnett

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