Gardening – Winter Plant Protection

With the onset of cooler weather, it is a wise garden who takes time to plan winter protection for tender plants and young seedlings. The odds are that such protection will only be needed at night for most plants but there are others, depending on your location, which will benefit from round the clock warmth. There are a number of ways to go about this:

Erecting small plastic tunnels over tender plants and seedling is an easy option. Inexpensive, especially if you contrive them yourself, the tunnels can be designed to meet exact height and width requirements. The plastic can be rolled back on sunny days and replaced at sunset. The cheapest method of constructing small tunnels is to use bendable green wood, bamboo or opened out wire coat hangers to make the frame and then tape together with large plastic bags. Gardening supply shops will have rolls of suitable plastic on sale with prices varying depending on quality and width.

Large plants and shrubs can be wrapped in horticultural fleece which is now available in some gardening stores. Although expensive, it is worth the cost to save precious plants from winter harm. The fleece can be removed on warm days and replaced at sunset.

Applying a thick layer of mulch on top of the soil around the base of tender perennial plants will protect their roots from the cold, and all going well, even if the top part of the plant dies, it should re-grow from the roots once warmer weather arrives. This mulch can be made from shredded newspaper, compost, cardboard straw or pieces of old carpet. It should not touch the main stem or trunk of the plant but be laid approximately an inch away, and depending on the material used, it should be spread from two to six inches thick.

It doesn’t take much time to get plant protection up and operable, and if you value your plants, it really is a must!

By B Khan

  • Add Your Comment

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.