Warm rain during the year’s end gives tremendous benefits to all of our plant material; plants that are turgid during the winter become stronger. January can be a very difficult month on plants. Make sure that everything is well mulched, particularly when snow cover is lacking. The alternation of freezing and thawing can cause root balls to heave, in addition to other types of severe damage that occur during the winter. Mulching can help prevent these. During warm or windy weather, plants lose moisture and can dehydrate, leading to injury during the winter—and in severe cases, death. If there is adequate moisture in the soil when the ground thaws, the plant can absorb the moisture. One of the great advantages of mulching is that it prevents the soil from drying out.
Since it is difficult to get outside and water during the winter, anti-desiccants such as Wilt-pruf can play an important part in your winter protection program. On a warm winter day, spray some Wilt-pruf on your broadleaf evergreens to reduce the water loss from these plants. Greens from the holidays, or Christmas tree branches can be used to cover perennial beds. Tender perennials should be covered with a light layer of salt hay.
Pruning of deciduous shrubs, trees, and evergreens can be done during the winter. On many of these plants the flower buds have already formed, so do your pruning wisely; do not accidentally cut off all of next year’s flower buds. Prune back only a certain number of branches, to insure flowering. Evergreen branches that might break under heavy snow loads should be reduced in size.
After heavy snows, shake the snow off. This is particularly important with evergreens. When applying de-icing compounds to walks, avoid using salts that are toxic to plants. If you are in deer country, apply deer repellents once a month. During January, deer get desperate for food and your garden contains some of their favorites.
Just prior to your first big snowfall, apply grass seed to your bare lawn areas. This is called dormant seeding. After the snow has covered your lawn, birds can’t get at the seed and the seed is conditioned for early spring germination. But don’t forget to feed the birds! They are especially good friends to the organic gardener.
Photo courtesy of Leslie Watts
