If you garden in a cold climate, winter can be a challenge. In this article, we'll take a look at a few common winter garden problems, and how to deal with them.

 

Dessication

The biggest danger to garden plants during winter isn't the cold, exactly. It's more to do with the drying effects of cold winter weather. When it's cold out, the soil is frozen and plants can't draw moisture up through their roots the way they usually would.

Strong winds, harsh winter sunlight, and low humidity added to this means trouble for your plants. The stems dry out, and this is known as dessication. If this goes on for too long, parts or even the entire plant can die.

While plants can dessicate any time it's dry, in North America it's most commonly a problem in winter. Signs of dessication include yellowing or browning leaves and needles and split bark. Evergreens (especially broad-leaved ones like azaleas, boxwood, holly, or rhododendrons) are most susceptible to winter dessication.

 

How to Prevent Dessication of Garden Plants

Before winter weather sets in, there are a few things you can do to protect your plants. You can surround susceptible plants with a burlap screen, which will be a windbreak and protect the plant from the drying effects of the wind and sun. You will also want to be sure to water regularly before the soil freezes and on any days the soil is dry and the temperatures are above freezing. After the soil freezes, give it a good two to three inch layer of compost such as pine needles, straw, or fall leaves.

Keep it away from the trunk to prevent rot, and mulch out to the drip line.

 

Container Plantings

If you garden in containers, you have a whole separate group of issues to deal with, in addition to preventing dessication.

First of all, even though the top of your container-grown perennials, trees, or shrubs may go dormant, the roots do not. And because they're in a small amount of soil, and rather exposed to the elements, they are more exposed to the cold. Very cold temperatures may kill the roots, which means your plant is dead.

Part of the issue is when a plant is constantly freezing and thawing. This damages the roots and can even heave the plant completely out of the pot. If you place your potted plants on soil instead of concrete, this can be less of a problem, since freezing and thawing happens more on concrete, which is warmed by the sun more during the day.

Here are some tips for protecting the roots of potted plants in winter:

The bigger the pot, the better. The soil in the pot will help insulate the rootball. A larger pot that has a thickness of an inch or more to its structure will do a good job of insulating the plants' roots. Material is also important: wood, foam, and resin are less likely to crack than clay, thin plastic, or ceramic, which are not recommended for year-round gardening.

You'll also want to place your containers (if at all possible) on the north or east sides of your house or garage, because they are shadier and less likely to have large temperature fluctuations.

You can also mulch over and around the containers with straw, fall leaves, or grass clippings for additional protection. If you don't have enough of these materials, you may want to consider wrapping the pots in bubble wrap or burlap.

Grouping several pots together will help as well. They will shelter and insulate one another.

 

Caring for garden plants in winter can be a challenge, but with these tips, you'll be a lot more likely to have a healthy, robust plant next spring.