Protecting your garden in winter

[coykiesaol]

A little late in the day admittedly; but if anyone has their own advice

about how they winter certain less hardy plants, we could all benefit

here.

As tempting as it is to prune and tidy certain shrubs and

perenniels, leaving the finished top growth will actually serve to

protect the base of the plant. If you have cut back certain plants;

protecting them with a good layer of bracken is highly recommended as it

is more waterproof than straw, little animals don't like nesting in it,

and it's free! Cutting back can then be done in early Spring.

Earthing

up around the base of roses will protect the graft from frost -

remember to remove the earth in springtime when you hard-prune the

plant.

With banana plants and similar, again bracken (or straw)

can be packed into the middle of

the plant, with an upturned pot or

some plastic placed just over the middle to keep the majority of the

rain out.

Flowerheads of Hydrangeas can be removed, as heavy snow

could weigh them down too much and cause the branches to snap.

More

tender plants should either be put under cover, or in a protected spot

on the South side of the house (not indoors unless you have an unheated

corner), covered with fleece or bracken, and don't forget to protect the

pot itself.

If it can be sunk into a nearby flowerbed, or a corner

of disused veggie patch, this will

protect the pot from frost damage,

and the roots of the plant.

If you can brave the weather, light

pruning of fruit trees can be done now. Also mulching around the base

with compost or rotted manure will serve to insulate roots of newly

planted trees and shrubs. But leave a gap of a couple of inches around

the trunk.

If you are planting anything bare-root, please keep

the roots warm and moist between collecting them from the garden centre,

and planting them in your garden (keeping them in a plastic bag is

sufficient). Half an hour of exposure to frost or sunshine could at

best retard the growth of the plant by two years; at worst kill the poor

wee thing altogether.

I'm sure I'll think of more to add, if

anyone else has some failsafe tips they use, please add on!

[Doodle]

This may sound a bit daft but we get through a lot of bottled water - 2 litre size clear plastic type. Last year I put in a few 1 & 2 year old fruit trees and as well as fleecing the top I cut the bottles vertically then placed them around the trunks 2-3 per trunk this allowed the air and light through and I think gave a certain amount of protection from the few bad weeks of winter (dept 53 north) we had. I also found it stopped the cat from sharpening her claws on them! Of course on a really windy day they did tend to end up else where in the garden but that was easily remedied with a bit of sticky tape!

Chris