Winterizing Your Garden:
Late fall and winter are typically dormant seasons for gardeners. But before you settle in for a well-deserved winter break, take some time to prepare your garden for the winter weather. Here are five tips from Southern Living to winterize your garden:
- Before freezing temperatures hit, make sure the soil around your plants has plenty of residual moisture. If rainfall has been scarce during the fall, deeply water landscape plants every week to 10 days until the first hard freeze.
- Don’t apply fertilizer in the late fall. Adding fertilizer late in the season promotes new growth that can be damaged by winter weather, so don’t apply fertilizer later in the fall.
- Avoid pruning trees or evergreen shrubs in the fall. Pruning at this time also encourages new growth. However, if you have trees or large shrubs with weak or dead limbs that may break and fall on the roof or eaves of a house or other structure in winter weather, cut these away in the fall.
- The most important preparation to get your garden ready for winter is mulching. While not every plant needs to be protected from low winter temperatures, tender perennials or newly planted shrubs and trees can use the added layer of protection. Winter mulch serves as a blanket for the plants’ root systems, helping insulate soil from temperature fluctuations. The freezing and thawing of soil can push shallow-rooted plants’ roots out of the ground and closer to the surface where cold weather can affect them more.
Once the first hard freeze has occurred, apply two to four inches of straw, pine needles, hay, compost, leaves, bark chips, or other organic mulch evenly around the plants. Be sure to keep the material a couple of inches away from the plant so it won’t promote rot or allow small rodents to seek cover in the mulch and gnaw on the trunk. - When heavy snowfall or ice is predicted, use burlap, canvas, or old sheets to cover plants. Anchor the cover around the base of the plant with stakes, rocks, bricks, or logs so winter winds don’t blow them off. Remove the cover and shake off the snow or ice once the threat has passed.
Snow and ice can break limbs and twigs of more fragile multi-branched trees and shrubs. Give them a little help holding up under the weight by bundling limbs together with string or twine. It’s fine to gently shake snow from the limbs of trees and shrubs, but let ice melt on its own to avoid breakage.
Pro Tip: The best form of winterizing is making sure the plants you choose for the landscape are able to withstand winter weather in your area. When buying new plants, pick ones that are suited for your growing zone and locate them in the proper spot. Tender plants that can’t withstand lots of cold weather should be planted in protected areas or on the west and south sides of houses and other structures.
And if, despite all your efforts, winter seems to take a toll on your landscape plants, don’t panic. Many will rebound when spring arrives, so be patient and give them time to recover before you give up on them.
Alabaster Beautification Board Winners
October Residential Award Winner
The Ward 1 home of Phil & Michelle Bryant at 248 Thoroughbred Lane is the October Residential Beautification Board Winner. The beautiful brick home is immaculately landscaped with a manicured lawn and vibrant color from plantings that include Encore azaleas, Indian Hawthorne, Tea Olives, Crepe Myrtles, and Holly bushes with red berries.
November Residential Award Winner
The Ward 6 home of Candace & Bobby Price at 328 Shelby Farms Lane is the November Residential Beautification Board Winner. This well-kept Craftsman-style home is loaded with curb appeal with colorful beds featuring Loropetalum, Crepe Myrtles, Japanese maple, Knockout roses, Stella de Oro daylillies, and a Cedar tree.
Commercial Winner for October, November, and December
