How to Protect Your Plants This Winter.

The thought of shoveling snow and scraping frosted windshields makes many of us, well, cringe! With that said, it is time to start thinking about protecting plants from the cold months ahead. A few simple steps can help ensure that your newly planted trees and shrubs are well protected from winter’s cold, harsh weather.

Step 1: Choose Hardy Plants – The best winter protection of course, is choosing plants that are hardy to the zone you live in. Longfellow’s Greenhouses and surrounding areas are considered zone 4, where the minimum temperature can be -30º.

Step 2: Apply Mulch – Loss of protective snow can subject plants to a freeze-thaw cycle. This cycle can easily heave young plants, roots and all, from the ground. Applying an additional layer of mulch once the ground freezes helps prevent this problem. 

Step 3: Wrap Shrubs with Burlap – Newly planted shrubs, evergreens and rhododendrons are especially susceptible to windburn and sun-scald. Protect these plants by driving stakes into the ground several inches away from the shrub. Wrap burlap around the stakes securing with staples. This will help prevent windburn and sun-scald caused by harsh winter winds. Quality shrub guards can also be purchased for this purpose.

Step 4: Apply an Anti-Transpirant to Broadleaf Evergreens – Excessive moisture loss can occur in the winter when drying winds and the frozen ground deprive plants of their moisture intake. An anti-transpirant such as Wilt-Stop™ forms a protective coating on the plants foliage which helps hold moisture in and prevents wind burn and sun-scald. 

Step 5: Protect Young Trees with Tree Guards – Trees are more susceptible to cold temperature problems and gnawing rodents when they are young. Wrap the trunks with tree guards to help prevent sun-scald, frost cracks and rodent damage.