1. The Significance of a Winter Garden: Not the End, but a Time for Preparation
For perennials and shrubs, the cold is not simply torture, but a necessary period of rest and recuperation. With a little preparation in advance, the roots can safely overwinter deep in the soil, allowing them to burst forth with new leaves in the spring.
Choosing varieties suitable for the local hardiness level (such as USDA zones) is the prerequisite for all protective measures; on this basis, supplementing with a small amount of “human assistance” is enough to result in healthier and more vigorous growth in the new season.
2. Overall Strategies Before Winter
The core of winter management is not “doing a lot,” but “doing a few things right”:
- Clean the environment to prevent weeds and diseases from accumulating in secret during winter.
- Adjust moisture and soil conditions to allow the roots to overwinter in stable humidity and temperature.
- Add physical protection as needed to reduce damage from wind chill, grazing, and extreme weather.
Perennials and shrubs have slightly different needs, but the general approach is similar; the main difference lies in the intensity of pruning and protection.
3. Perennials: Five Key Steps
1. Remove Weeds and Dead Branches
Before temperatures truly drop to freezing, remove all noxious weeds from flower beds to prevent them from competing for limited water and nutrients during winter.
For perennials whose above-ground parts have already withered, pruning can be done in autumn or spring, depending on the variety. Some ornamental dead spikes and seed pods can be deliberately preserved, adding interest to the winter landscape and providing shelter for small organisms.
2. Deep Watering Before Freezing
The most common problem in harsh winters is not freezing to death, but drought. Thoroughly watering the soil before it freezes allows the roots to store the water needed for the entire season.
Watering should reach the roots, not just moisten the surface, to prevent moisture from evaporating quickly and taking away heat.
3. Regulating Temperature and Moisture with Mulching
Covering the base of perennial plants with a 5-7 cm layer of organic mulch (such as bark, chopped leaves, compost, etc.) is like covering the roots with a thick blanket.
The purpose of mulch is not to make the soil “warmer,” but to mitigate drastic temperature fluctuations, preventing frequent root damage during freeze-thaw cycles, while maintaining moderate humidity.
4. Preventing Gnawing: A Winter Feast for Deer and Rabbits
In winter, green leaves and soft branches are particularly tempting to animals like deer and rabbits.
For perennials that still retain their above-ground parts, lightweight netting, metal mesh, or specialized protective netting can be used to enclose them. This doesn’t hinder ventilation and effectively reduces grazing.
5. Extra Care for “Scarce” Plants
Newly planted plants and varieties with slightly lower cold hardiness are more susceptible to damage in extreme cold snaps than older plants.
These types of plants can be temporarily covered with burlap, gardening non-woven fabric, or old blankets before a cold snap, and then partially uncovered for ventilation on sunny, warm days to avoid prolonged dampness. Perennials planted in pots are better suited to being moved to a garage or small house without heating but sheltered from wind and rain to survive the winter.
4. Shrubs: From “Surviving the Winter” to “Reblooming in Spring”
1. Deep Watering: “Conserving Water” for the Entire Shrub
Shrub branches continue to slowly lose water through transpiration during winter, especially evergreen varieties.
Watering each shrub thoroughly before the soil freezes can reduce winter drying, scorched edges, and poor budding the following year.
2. Mulching the Root Zone: Locking in Soil Temperature and Moisture
Similar to perennials, lay a thick mulch around the outer edge of the shrub’s roots, slightly larger than the vertical projection of the canopy.
This “apron” reduces frost heave in the root zone, preventing fine roots from being torn apart during freeze-thaw cycles, and also reduces water evaporation in snowless winters.
3. Protection against grazing and abrasion
Deer, rabbits, and other animals often graze on tender branches and bark in winter, which can reduce flower buds for the following year, or even cause girdling of the trunk and death.
Metal mesh, garden protective tubing, or wrapping netting can be used to wrap around the trunk and lower branches, preventing grazing and reducing the chance of branches breaking under heavy snow and strong winds.
4. Covering cold-sensitive shrubs
While choosing shrubs with a hardiness level suitable for the local climate is the first line of defense, some marginal varieties or those experiencing exceptionally cold years may still suffer frost damage.
Before a cold snap warning, gently wrap the entire plant with burlap or garden fabric, especially plants in windy areas and on north-facing slopes, to effectively reduce wind scorching and water loss from branches. Potted shrubs are also best moved to a sheltered, frost-free environment for temporary shelter.
5. Pruning Schedule: Stop Before Winter
In most cases, late autumn to deep winter is not a good time for heavy pruning.
Retaining intact branches protects lower flower buds and allows for more precise shaping based on new bud distribution the following spring. The only exception is visibly dead or diseased branches, which should be pruned immediately to prevent the spread of disease over winter.
5. Common Problems and Solutions
1. How to Overwinter Potted and Container Plants?
The soil in containers warms and cools much faster than in the ground, making them more susceptible to root damage in cold snaps.
Before winter, water potted perennials or shrubs deeply, then move them to a cool, well-ventilated, frost-free space, such as an unheated garage or shed, and avoid direct sunlight as much as possible to prevent the plants from mistaking “springtime” for premature budding. Extra care should be taken with fragile terracotta pots, as repeated freeze-thaw cycles can easily cause them to crack. If necessary, replace them with containers made of plastic, wood, or composite materials.
2. How to identify signs of frost damage?
After a cold snap, if leaves become brittle and cracked, large brown or black spots appear, or the tissue softens and droops, it is likely due to frost or low-temperature damage.
Most hardy plants can re-sprout from undamaged buds the following year after minor damage, so there is no need to rush into drastic pruning. Wait until the new buds have fully emerged in the spring before determining which parts need to be removed.
3. Can flowers and branches be enjoyed in winter?
In warmer regions, some camellias, jasmine, and daphne often bloom in winter or early spring, adding fragrance and color to the otherwise quiet garden.
In colder regions, even with sparse blooms, gardens can still retain structure and interest under the snow by selecting plants with colorful branches, abundant berries, or evergreen leaves, such as red-twig dogwood, holly, and juniper.
6. Creating Scenery in Winter: Balancing Protection and Appreciation
When planning winter management, don’t treat the garden as a “task,” but rather as an opportunity to re-examine its structure and lines.
- Select several plants with brightly colored branches or abundant berries as focal points in the distance.
- Retain some withered spikes, fruit clusters, and reed-like inflorescences, allowing frost and snow to sculpt them naturally.
- Use a suitable amount of evergreen plants and carefully laid mulch to outline the flower beds, giving the garden a “skeleton” and a story even without flowers.
When these simple steps become a habit, winter is no longer just a test for gardening enthusiasts, but a silent yet powerful chapter, quietly brewing the abundance of the next growing season.
