How Winter Affects Plants and How You Can Keep Them Safe

Winter season isn't only harsh for us but can take a heavy toll on the plants in your garden too. If you do not care for them during the cold season, they can wither away and leave you with a bigger job in spring. Fortunately, there are ways you can prepare for the cold seasons and protect your hard work from the brunt of it.

How Winter Affects Plants and Flowers

There are many ways in which winter affects the plants and flowers in your garden. Firstly, as the temperature drops, the colder weather decreases plant enzyme activity. This disrupts the amount of nutrients the plants can take in through the soil and ultimately stunt their growth. The cold can also freeze the plant cells, disrupting nutrient flow and causing tissue death. It’s a tough season for plants to survive so it’s important to know your garden very well!

Easy Steps to Prevent & Manage Plant Damage

• For the colder season try and avoid golden or variegated plants as they are tender and sensitive to temperature changes. Also, they tend not to last long in harsh weathers.
• Do your research to choose plants that are local and have a history bearing through winters, harsh weathers and also do not need a lot of upkeep in the winters. 
• Any plant that needs a lot of the NPK fertiliser should be avoided for the winter because these compounds promote the growth of sappy leaves. These in turn are weak and get damaged very easily. 
• Make sure that anything tender that you may have should be placed under a protective layer. For example, anything with tender buds should be placed under a tree away from east facing sites.
• Survey your garden to avoid placing the more delicate plants in frost pockets (where cold air is trapped close to the ground). These are often plant beds near fences, walls and hedges.

Protecting Your Plants

It's always better to protect your plants rather than repair them later on. The tender plants cannot withstand the upcoming cold weather and will need some form of protection or another.

• Creepers that go up against the wall can be covered by fleece or a frame. You can also sandwich them between leaves and chicken wire. On the top of the soil, you should add a thick layer of mulch so that the soil does not freeze over the winters.
• Evergreen plants can also benefit from a thick layer of mulch as it keeps the soil around them frost-free.
• Insulate the trunks of trees and shrubs in your house by wrapping them in fleece. Tie their leaves in a bunch and that should do the trick.

This guide should help you get started for protecting your plants for the seasonal changes. Remember each plant type has different needs so it is best that you always do your research before the change of a season to specifically care for each individual plant. 

Contact Living Windows

     To learn more, contact Living Windows today and shop our wide selection of high-quality gardening supplies to aid your autumn gardening, shop seasonal plant boxes, and more.

If you liked the above content, feel free to share it on your favourite social media pages.