As we deal with colder nights and a higher risk of frost, there are few things that it’s worth keeping an eye out for to make sure your garden is prepared for cold weather. Here’s a winter garden checklist, to help see you and your plants through the icier months.
1. Frost damage
Sub-zero temperatures bring frost, which we all known can do a lot of harm to plants. Some varieties are hardy to the cold, but especially tender plants can succumb to frost if not cared for properly.
Frost damage usually shows up as blackened leaves, wilting and sometimes softening of stems. Once it has happened, there’s not much that can be done. However, we recommend not cutting off damaged areas just yet, as they can provide protection to other parts of the plant that haven’t been touched by any icy fingers yet.
Preparing for frost in autumn involves moving tender plants indoors, into a conservatory, heated greenhouse or even just under glass in a cold frame. Any insulation is better than none, and plants that can’t be moved could instead be wrapped in horticultural fleece or bubble-wrap. If you’re taking this approach, make sure to tend for the plants before they’re wrapped and check on them during the winter, to make sure they’re not housing pests or diseases.
Greenhouses offer protection from frost and other inclement weather the wintery months bring, so are idea for over-wintering tender plants. Greenhouse heating is a reliable option for maintaining plants, but where that’s not possible or deemed too costly, you can also use fleece or bubble-wrap to insulate your greenhouse. You can read more about how to keep greenhouses snug and insulated in winter.
2. Soil Protection and Mulching
Preparing your garden for cold weather is as much about the soil as it is the plants themselves. And we would be remiss to write anything about soil protection without talking about them importance of mulching.
Mulch comes in different forms. Organic mulches include bark or wood chips, straw, hay or cut grasses, pine needles for soil in need to acidity, grass clippings, leafmould, compost or manure. Inorganic mulches include pebbles or gravel, or man-made materials such as rubber or landscape fabric.
For frost protection, loose lying organic mulch such as leafmold, clippings and wood bark are recommended. You don’t want something that can get waterlogged and freeze. And these recommended options can help by adding nutrients to the soil as they decay.
Mulch can help soil and plants in many ways. As well as insulating from frost, mulch can prevent soil erosion from wind and excessive rainfall and keep weeds at bay that might compete for nutrients.
When it comes to frost prevention, the timing and thickness of your mulching is key. The best advice is to add a 2-4 inch layer of mulch to your beds after the soil has cooled in the autumn, but before the frosts set in. This may in fact be added on top of thinner layers of mulch that you’ve been relying on to help retain moisture and prevent weeds from taking over in the summer. Your winter layer should remain loose, to let air and moisture circulate. You’ll want to be able to remove it in the spring. Think of it as an extra blanket, to keep frost from getting to plant roots.
Make sure not to pack your mulch in too tight around roots and stems, as it’s important not to waterlog these areas for plant health, as well as to prevent excess water that could get icy and exasperate the frost problem.
3. Good drainage
Ensuring your beds have good drainage is an important element of keeping plants healthy through the winter. Pooled water will freeze and can irreparably damage roots if they are waterlogged. So, before the winter reaches its coldest, take some time to check that your soil is draining well.
Where it’s not, consider measures you can take. In the short term, that might be adding in organic matter to help break up compacted or soggy soil. In the longer term, you could think about what crops can help to add structure to your soil. Wild oats are often planted as a winter cover crop for this exact purpose.
4. Preventing Pests
Our plants aren’t the only things out in the garden getting chilly in the winter. Pests will be looking for protected nooks to survive the cold, but unfortunately, that can make problems for us as gardeners.
If you are wrapping plants or insulated a greenhouse with horticultural fleece or bubble-warp, make sure to check for pests regularly. It would be sad to unwrap a treasured plant in the spring, only to find it has been nourishing a colony of pesky pests all winter.
Consider that any plants you’re protecting may well be the ideal spot for pests to winter, so keep a regular routine of checking on your plants. If you do see signs of pests, take action swiftly, as the sooner you address them the easier they’ll be to resolve.
5. Welcoming wildlife
We may not want the pests that will devour our plants and spread, but we gardeners do want to support wildlife in our gardens. Most pleasingly of all, of course, this is the season to make sure your birdfeeders are clean, full and well positioned. Different birds like different kinds of treats and feeders, so have a look at which little friends are populating your garden, or those of your neighbours, and see if you can match their tastes to the bird food you put out. As well as seed, suet balls can provide much needed calories for our feathered friends.
In addition to birds, some gardeners like to help other kinds of wildlife too. From bug hotels to hedgehog houses, you can find ways to support the fauna that make your garden more than just plants.
6. Debris around your plants
When we haven’t cleared beds for winter, there’s a chance that rotting debris from the growing season can cause damage to plants. Some gardeners like to use cuttings as mulch, which can be very effective. However, it’s important to check for disease before leaving plant debris in place. They can also house those pests that can spread and cause issues for us in the spring. If you’re leaving plant debris in place, it’s certainly worth checking that it’s not harbouring anything that can cause harm.
7. Guard from high winds
We’ve talked about frost and soil that is well-drained to prevent waterlogging. But there are other challenges from wintery weather that can have an impact on our gardens.
Depending on your aspect and surroundings, wind can cause huge damage to plants and trees in the winter. Keep an eye on branches that could fall, as well as plants whose stems might need supporting if the winds get high. In particularly windy areas, or very stormy winters, you might consider getting supports such as canes, hoops or stakes in place early, as part of your autumn garden care.
Remember that weather can also affect your greenhouse, so make sure to check for potential damage after storms.