As the temperature drops and the days grow shorter, the growing season for plants this year is beginning to wrap up. Plants are starting to go dormant and are preparing for winter. There is still time before the first freeze for you to prepare your garden for the winter months.
Figuring out the best way to get your garden ready for winter can be challenging especially for new gardeners. Not to worry though because we have come up with some great tips to point you in the right direction this fall. All the hard work that you put into your garden this fall will be rewarded when your garden becomes more beautiful than ever in the early spring!
7 Things to get your garden ready for Winter
1. Trim Diseased Perennials
After a long year of growing your perennials are going to need some care to prepare them for next year. Take a look at the leaves of your perennials and see if they have any leaf spots. If they do that means they have a disease. You will want to cut these plants to the ground in the fall and discard them to prevent powdery mildew or fungal diseases from overwintering with the debris.
Although it is nice to have some perennials in place for winter interest, if the plants were not clean it is a good idea to remove the diseased debris from re-infecting next year. This way your perennials will come back looking better than ever in the spring!
2. Prepare the Roses
When you’re getting your garden beds ready for the winter you don’t want to cut your roses down in the fall. Instead of cutting them in colder regions, wait for a few frosts for when the rose will go dormant. After the roses are dormant you will want to start to mound the rose with arborist wood chips.
You’ll start at the base of the rose by adding the wood chips. then you’ll want to try and make a nice pile about a foot high covering the rose to keep it nice and healthy through the winter months. Then in spring pull back the mulch and trim down the roses that bloom on new wood which will remove any broken or winter damage. Do not cut roses that bloom on last year’s wood until after they bloom in June.
3. Trim and Wrap Trees
When you are getting your trees ready for the winter, especially the younger ones, it is important to wrap the trees to protect them from rodents and deer. Wrapping the trunks with hardware cloth or metal screening from the soil up to the first set of branches will prevent vermin from chewing on that nice tender bark and prevent deer buck rubs.
Screening allows the water or snow to dry so the trunks do not stay wet. Avoid black plastic tile as it attracts heat on the trunks (white will reflect the heat).
4. Continue Watering Your Evergreens
Evergreens can transpire water slowly all winter so if the soil is very dry, the plants may be susceptible to winter burn which will show up in spring.
5. Time to Plant Spring Flowering Bulbs
Fall is the time to start planting those spring flowering bulbs and garlic. When you start planting the first step is to select the right spot where you want these to bloom in the fall. It is important to see how much sunlight the bulbs will need when selecting the spot.
After you find the spot you want it's time to start planting! It is important to plant the bulb at its suggested depth in the ground in well drained soil.
Once the bulbs are planted it is very important to make sure the soil is watered very well. When watering you need to make sure you are watering enough to reach the bulb.
The soil should be watered thoroughly after planting and then again as needed. This will ensure that the bulbs establish new roots before the ground freezes over. After that all there is to do is wait until spring and enjoy the beautiful bulbs you planted!
6. Leave the Ornamental Grasses Alone
When caring for ornamental and native grass in the fall you should not cut them but instead leave them up and allow them to stand and enjoy their movement and interest in the landscape all winter long.
Once spring rolls around then it's time to cut the grasses. When cutting the grass in the spring cut them down all the way but leave just a few inches left. If you do this each year you will be letting these grasses thrive and live for years to come.
7. Houseplant Winter Care
Even though your house plants are grown indoors away from the elements of winter they can still be affected. The days are shorter and there isn’t as much sunlight so your plant will not grow as aggressively as it did in the summer when there is more sunlight.
With the days being shorter you do not need to fertilizer since the plant is not growing as fast. Once the winter is over and it gets sunnier out then you can start adding fertilizer to your plant.
The key to having a successful garden is to continually work on it throughout the year. All of the hard work that you do now preparing your fall garden for the winter will pay off greatly when you see your plants come back looking better than ever in the spring. Here at NatureHills.com we have all of the necessary tools for you to prepare your garden for the winter months to come.
Happy Planting!
