With only a little over a month left before winter officially sets in, plants are slowing down their growth and heading into dormancy. This process helps protect them from the ravages of snow and freezing temperatures, but you can help them survive better. Now is the time to do tasks like adding winter protection for shrubs.
What Can You Do for Winter Protection for Shrubs?
One problem that you can run into in your garden is sun scald. This occurs when temperatures warm up enough during the day to promote growth in the cambium area of the bark. When the weather dips down again as night falls, these sections of newer growth may become damaged. You can help the shrub avoid this problem by protecting the bark through the use of products like tree wrap. You do want to make sure that they are not dark in color as you want to have the light be deflected instead of absorbed.
Another common way to protect your shrubs, especially if they are evergreens, is to wrap them with burlap or place sheets of that fabric on poles around the plant to create a screen. This will help shield the plant from problems like temperature fluctuations, salt spray (from deicing products), wind burn and ice or snow. Gently bring the branches together as possible towards the middle and wrap the burlap around it. Remove it promptly in the spring when the temperatures start to warm up.
How do you protect your shrubs in the winter?
Image by Unhindered by Talent under a Flickr Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License
