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  • Home
  • About, Services, Contact
  • Ask Amanda
  • Roses
    • Types of Roses
    • Easy Roses
    • Climbing Roses
    • Portland's Rose Test Garden
    • Rose Insects & Diseases
    • Pruning Roses
    • Rose Sawfly
    • Rose Bloom Balling
  • Pruning Basics 101
    • Pruning Tools
    • Winter Pruning
    • Pruning Grapes
    • Pruning Clematis
    • Prune Your Own Garden Registration
  • Lawn Basics
    • Lawn Reno, Seed & Sod
    • Lawn Maintenance Schedule
    • Spring Lawn Care
    • Moss in Lawns
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  • Mulch & Mulching
    • Living Mulches - Groundcovers
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    • Planting Know-How
    • Soil Building
    • Watering Tips & Techniques
    • Drought Gardening
    • Sheet Mulching, Lasagna Gardening
    • Cover Crops
    • Composting
    • Compost Tea
    • Houseplant Winter Care
    • Hummingbirds in Winter
    • Winterize Your Garden
    • Ponds in Winter
  • Growing Food
    • Spring Veggie Gardening
    • Crop Rotation, Succession & Companion Planting
    • Harvesting
    • Growing Potatoes
    • Winter Veggie Gardening
    • Taming Tomatoes
    • Speeding up Tomato Harvest
    • Tomato Tips
    • Saving Tomato Seeds
    • Tomato Troubles
  • Plant Pests 1
    • Plant Pests Part 2 - Controlling Insects
    • Garden Inspections
    • Helping Pollinators
    • Dogwood Anthracnose
    • Viburnum Leaf Beetle
    • Dormant Oil/Lime Sulfur
    • Japanese Beetles
    • Peony Blotch/Measles
    • Slugs & Snails
    • Horsetail, the Weed
    • June Beetle
    • Powdery Mildew
    • Soil Solarization
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    • Abelia
    • American Sweetgum
    • Ash (Fraxinus) Trees
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    • Aucuba, Japanese Spotted Laurel
    • Autumn Crocus
    • Bear's Breeches
    • Beautyberry, Callicarpa
    • Black-eyed Susans
    • Bleeding Heart, Lamprocapnos spectabilis
    • Calla Lilies
    • Dahlias
    • Daylily
    • Delphiniums
    • Devil's Walking Stick, Aralia spinosa
    • Dwarf Alberta Spruce
    • Dwarf Burning Bush
    • Fall Asters
    • Flowering Currants
    • Flowering Quince
    • Fritillaria
    • Garden Peonies
    • Garden Phlox
    • Ginkgo biloba
    • Grape-hyacinths
    • Handkerchief or Dove Tree
    • Harry Lauder's Walking Stick
    • Heathers
    • Hellebores, Lenten roses
    • Himalayan Sweet Box
    • Jack-in-the-pulpit, Cobra Lily
    • Japanese Anemones
    • Japanese Forest Grass
    • Japanese Maples
    • Japanese Skimmia
    • Japanese Spurge
    • Laurustinus viburnum
    • Lavenders
    • Lily-of-the-Valley Shrub, Pieris japonica
    • Mediterranean Spurge
    • Mexican Mock Orange
    • Montana Clematis
    • Mountain Ash
    • Oriental Poppies
    • Oriental Lilies
    • Paperbark Maple
    • Pink Dawn Bodnant Viburnum
    • Poinsettias
    • Oregon Grape Holly
    • Ornamental Kale
    • Peruvian Lily, Alstroemeria
    • Phalaenopsis, Moth Orchids
    • Persian Silk Tree
    • Portuguese Laurel
    • Rose of Sharon
    • Sneezeweed, Helenium
    • Snowberry
    • Snowdrops
    • Star Magnolia
    • Strawberry Tree, Pacific Madrone
    • Stewartia
    • Torch Lily, Kniphofia uvaria
    • Tree Peonies
    • Tuberous Begonias
    • Virginia Creeper
    • Weigela
    • Winterhazel, Corylopsis
    • Winter Camellia, C. sasanqua
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Winterize Your Garden

Amanda's Garden Consulting 

Preparing for the worst & hoping for the Best

protecting plants in winter,winter garden protection,how to protect plants in winter
Bananas are protected with a cage full of all foliage.
protecting plants in winter,winter garden protection,how to protect plants in winter
An Australian tree fern is toasty warm wrapped in a straw-filled cage.
protecting plants in winter,winter garden protection,how to protect plants in winter
A few layers of burlap helps to protect a newly planted camellia.
protecting plants in winter,winter garden protection,how to protect plants in winter
Tie evergreens to keep their shape in heavy snow.
protecting plants in winter,winter garden protection,how to protect plants in winter
I don't know what's under here, but whatever they are, they should do well with all the winter protection.
protecting plants in winter,winter garden protection,how to protect plants in winter
Brush off heavy snow as soon as possible.
Picture
Protect roses by mounding soil over their crowns.
protecting plants in winter,winter garden protection,how to protect plants in winter
Winter heather appreciates the extra insulation provided from a thick layer of autumn leaves.
protecting plants in winter,winter garden protection,how to protect plants in winter
Gunnera leaves protect the mother plant underneath.
Wherever you live in Canada and elsewhere it’s important to know your hardiness zone so you can protect the plants that aren’t so tough. Conditions also play a factor in plant hardiness. Dry soil, soggy soil, exposed areas, windy areas, high elevations, low spots – they all influence how a plant survives winter.
​
I live in southern coastal British Columbia, which is USDA zone 8. In this moderate oceanic climate, most plants don’t need winter protection when left outside in the ground except for pineapple lily (Eucomis autumnalis), freesias, fuchsias, elephant ears (Colocasia spp.), Australian tree ferns (Dicksonia antarctica), New Zealand flax (Phormium spp.), hardy bananas, tender succulents, Chinese windmill palms (Trachycarpus fortunei) and any newly planted plants.

​However, in the Fraser Valley the influence of the Pacific Ocean wanes as temperatures drop well below freezing. On the other side of the Rocky Mountains, the conditions are more in line with Alberta and don’t resemble the temperate conditions of the coast. The closer to the ocean, the more temperate and that’s why the Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island, and the Sunshine Coast are in at Zone 7 and 8. Further inland, the Okanagan Valley is Zone 4 and 5, Prince Rupert is zone 6 and 7. Up north, Prince George is a chilly zone 3 with the Peace River region being the coldest zone at Zone 2. Obviously protecting plants is an essential part of garden management, as well as correct plant selection.
The easiest and most convenient way to protect roots and crowns is with a few inches of soil, leaves or straw. To protect the above ground portion of plants, wrap with layers of burlap, sheets, tablecloths, and even cardboard. Don't use plastic, as it has no insulating value. 

Cage bananas, palms and tree ferns with chicken wire and fill with foliage or straw. Tie pyramidal, round and upright evergreens such as cedars with twine to prevent heavy wet snow from destroying their shapes.

To protect palm trees, wrap the top with fabric and nestle a string of 7 volt, non LED outdoor lights, such as Christmas lights, nestled in the growing bud of (where the fronds emerge at the top of the plant). Turn on the lights when temperatures go to below freezing. To learn more about Banana & Palm Winter Protection click here.

Drying cold winds suck the moisture out of evergreen plants from conifers ex: spruce to broadleaf evergreens ex: rhododendrons. This desiccation is responsible for winter damage and winterkill. Wrapping plants with burlap and other breathable material works, but another option is to use an anti-desiccant, also referred to as an anti-transpirant. The most common one available in Canada is called Wilt Pruf. 

Apply to plants to reduce stress during drought, winter, transplanting, drying winds and other inclement conditions. Anti-desiccants also prolong the life and safety of Christmas trees. Before bringing your cut tree inside follow the product's instructions and coat thoroughly. Allow to dry then bring inside, place it in its tree stand with water added, then decorate. 
Picture
To protect potted plants over the winter dig a trench and place them inside.
Picture
Cover potted pants placed in a trench with a generous layer of straw, or fallen leaves.
Picture
Clear drains of snow and debris to prevent flooding.
frost blanket
Frost blankets are lightweight and are available in many home hardware stores etc.

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Copyright © 2017
  • Home
  • About, Services, Contact
  • Ask Amanda
  • Roses
    • Types of Roses
    • Easy Roses
    • Climbing Roses
    • Portland's Rose Test Garden
    • Rose Insects & Diseases
    • Pruning Roses
    • Rose Sawfly
    • Rose Bloom Balling
  • Pruning Basics 101
    • Pruning Tools
    • Winter Pruning
    • Pruning Grapes
    • Pruning Clematis
    • Prune Your Own Garden Registration
  • Lawn Basics
    • Lawn Reno, Seed & Sod
    • Lawn Maintenance Schedule
    • Spring Lawn Care
    • Moss in Lawns
    • Lawn Alternatives
    • Lawn Grub Control
  • Mulch & Mulching
    • Living Mulches - Groundcovers
  • Propagation
    • Growing Seeds Outdoors
    • Growing Seeds Indoors
    • Taking Cuttings
    • Seed & Plant Catalogues
  • How to Garden Topics
    • Fall Garden Chores
    • Planting Know-How
    • Soil Building
    • Watering Tips & Techniques
    • Drought Gardening
    • Sheet Mulching, Lasagna Gardening
    • Cover Crops
    • Composting
    • Compost Tea
    • Houseplant Winter Care
    • Hummingbirds in Winter
    • Winterize Your Garden
    • Ponds in Winter
  • Growing Food
    • Spring Veggie Gardening
    • Crop Rotation, Succession & Companion Planting
    • Harvesting
    • Growing Potatoes
    • Winter Veggie Gardening
    • Taming Tomatoes
    • Speeding up Tomato Harvest
    • Tomato Tips
    • Saving Tomato Seeds
    • Tomato Troubles
  • Plant Pests 1
    • Plant Pests Part 2 - Controlling Insects
    • Garden Inspections
    • Helping Pollinators
    • Dogwood Anthracnose
    • Viburnum Leaf Beetle
    • Dormant Oil/Lime Sulfur
    • Japanese Beetles
    • Peony Blotch/Measles
    • Slugs & Snails
    • Horsetail, the Weed
    • June Beetle
    • Powdery Mildew
    • Soil Solarization
    • Rhododendron Leaf Spot
    • Plant Rusts
    • Black Knot
  • Container Growing
    • Choosing a Container
  • Feeding Plants 101
    • Fertilizers & Ratios
    • Nutritional Deficiencies & Toxicities
    • Organic Plant Food
  • Plant of the Month
    • Spring Flowering Bulbs
    • Colourful Fall Plants
    • Abelia
    • American Sweetgum
    • Ash (Fraxinus) Trees
    • Astilbes
    • Aubretia, Rock Cress
    • Aucuba, Japanese Spotted Laurel
    • Autumn Crocus
    • Bear's Breeches
    • Beautyberry, Callicarpa
    • Black-eyed Susans
    • Bleeding Heart, Lamprocapnos spectabilis
    • Calla Lilies
    • Dahlias
    • Daylily
    • Delphiniums
    • Devil's Walking Stick, Aralia spinosa
    • Dwarf Alberta Spruce
    • Dwarf Burning Bush
    • Fall Asters
    • Flowering Currants
    • Flowering Quince
    • Fritillaria
    • Garden Peonies
    • Garden Phlox
    • Ginkgo biloba
    • Grape-hyacinths
    • Handkerchief or Dove Tree
    • Harry Lauder's Walking Stick
    • Heathers
    • Hellebores, Lenten roses
    • Himalayan Sweet Box
    • Jack-in-the-pulpit, Cobra Lily
    • Japanese Anemones
    • Japanese Forest Grass
    • Japanese Maples
    • Japanese Skimmia
    • Japanese Spurge
    • Laurustinus viburnum
    • Lavenders
    • Lily-of-the-Valley Shrub, Pieris japonica
    • Mediterranean Spurge
    • Mexican Mock Orange
    • Montana Clematis
    • Mountain Ash
    • Oriental Poppies
    • Oriental Lilies
    • Paperbark Maple
    • Pink Dawn Bodnant Viburnum
    • Poinsettias
    • Oregon Grape Holly
    • Ornamental Kale
    • Peruvian Lily, Alstroemeria
    • Phalaenopsis, Moth Orchids
    • Persian Silk Tree
    • Portuguese Laurel
    • Rose of Sharon
    • Sneezeweed, Helenium
    • Snowberry
    • Snowdrops
    • Star Magnolia
    • Strawberry Tree, Pacific Madrone
    • Stewartia
    • Torch Lily, Kniphofia uvaria
    • Tree Peonies
    • Tuberous Begonias
    • Virginia Creeper
    • Weigela
    • Winterhazel, Corylopsis
    • Winter Camellia, C. sasanqua
    • Wintergreen, Gaultheria procumbens
    • Witch Hazel
    • Wood Anemones
    • Yews
  • Garden Tour Blogs
  • Monthly Flower Arrangements
  • Website Index
  • Subscribe
  • Need Help?