Old Geezer the Gardening Guru: Protecting plants over winter

Friday, 18 November 2011 4:57 PM

By Old Geezer

Beautifully mild autumn days have a big downside. They not only lull us into a false sense security, but trick many plants into continuing to grow when they should be sinking into dormancy for the winter.

The effect of this is that many plants which could easily survive our winters struggle instead. What can be done to protect such plants without spending a fortune?

You could always move anything a little bit delicate into the greenhouse and put the heating on, but that's expensive and the point of this column is to help you save a bit of money.

A simple and cheap trick is to use nature to help. Many herbaceous plants can be helped by cutting them back a little less vigorously than normal. Leave the stems a bit longer and this will protect the soft shoots showing through at the base.

Next collect a few bags of dry leaves and put four or five sticks around each plant. You can use canes if you are posh! Then you need a piece of netting about two feet wide. Make a circle of netting around the plant, supported by the sticks and then add the leaves, gently working them down among the stems.

A classic plant which benefits from this is the large and relatively hardy fushia. It is often not the severity of the winters which kill these plants but the sudden onset of harsh weather, so be prepared with your netting and leaves.

One thing I am often asked is whether straw can do the job of leaves. It will, but not quite as effectively.

Much is also written about wrapping up those expensive ceramic pots to protect them from frost damage.

The theory is that water gets into the tiny, almost invisible cracks, freezes and then the glaze flakes off. This might sound silly, but it does happen and bubble wrap is a good solution. Before you wrap it up (bubbles inwards) go over the outside with a hairdryer.

Tape the bubble wrap in place and wrap the whole thing in ordinary polythene. Tie the outer layer in place, ensuring it goes underneath the pot/container.

Tape can easily get wet and come loose – tying the outer layer avoids this problem. Whether you extend this up and over the plant depends on what the plant is, generally covering plants which should survive our winter is not a good idea as it makes them even softer.

However in extreme conditions it can help, just remember to open up the plant to the air again as soon as you can. This is all about preventing the roots freezing, which is very likely to happen with the plant in a pot.

Another way of protecting plants in plastic pots is to bury them with the rim of the pot just below soil level. This is aimed at protecting the roots of your plants, the tops of usually die off anyway.

Enjoy your gardening.

All the best, Old Geezer.

Old Geezer (Paul Rix) is the author of 'Beyond the Potting Shed' a comprehensive guide to growing your own. Available from all good book shops or Amazon.

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