Need some advise on this subject. I live in a zone 5 area and have very cold heavy snow falls...up to 6 feet. Last winter I lost all my shrubs at the front of my property even though I was careful to house and burlap. The snow obviously covers the plant deeply. I replanted the entire front this spring and want to avoid a repeat incident. The plants are small, I've seen a styrofoam pot in garden centres that might be an interesting alternative, but I'm skeptical. There would be no air or light passage...should I mulch heavily and burlap more?

any advise is appreciated.....

 

Take a cue from mother nature - let her worry about the plants and you do NOTHING. We all have to fight the urge to over-protect the plants. When we do over-protect, that is when we do the most harm. Your burlap did more damage than the cold or snow would.

Look at what mother nature does to prepare the plants for winter. Take a walk in the woods and see. The only plants that will suffer are those that are weak or not indigenous to the region or a similar region.

The snow is a blessing to help the plants survive the winter. Snow acts like a blanket, protecting the plant from the extreme cold.

 

well....I let mother nature do her thing in my backyard last winter and plants not wrapped in burlap as the year before had serious snow burn and were almost dead

thanks for the response....

 

Are the plants that suffer so much damage indigenous to the area?

 

I believe so, we had a very cold winter last year...early. The frost went deep quickly, bitter cold -40 degrees, 6 feet of snow. Lost my prized Japanese Maple. Think I'm going to build small 'houses' and wrap all shrubs in burlap.....

 

Maybe I misunderstand you. The shrubs with burlap DID die. Shrubs without burlap, ALMOST died, but still lived?

Some loss to extreme climate is inevitable, especially if winter arrives before the plant is ready. Sounds like your backyard plants were not ready for an early winter.

Instead of burlap, put down about 2" of mulch around the roots but keep an inch away from the trunk. The base of the trunk must be allowed to "breath".
This will help insulate the roots from an early freeze.

If the snow gets that deep, brush it away from the limbs, but keep it around the base of the plant for additional insulation.

Did you get the Japanese maple from a local nursery or mail order? If local, check with the nursery for tips on helping the tree overwinter. If you bought it from a local big box, well... next time get it from a local nursery. They have better stock and stock that will grow better in your area.

 

The extreme temperature might have been enough to kill the plants. For example, Japanese Maple is hardy in zone 4 which is only -30 degrees F. The -40 degrees might have been the telling blow.

Being too protective of the plants might prevent them from preparing otherwise for the cold. If this be the case, you might lose them anyway.

 

Proper watering all year and slightly reducing in September with continued watering until freeze will encourage hardening off and still provide needed moisture. Plants not winter hardy to the area do not fare well in extreme temperatures. Even those that are hardy will not do well if stressed by summer drought, disease, or pests.

Winter sun and wind can take a toll. Roots in frozen soil can't take up water to replace what is lost in foliage. Sunny winter days can activate cells, and when the sun goes down and temperature drops quickly, foliage can be injured or killed. Sunny, cold days can cause chlorophyll to bleach out of foliage because it can not resynthesize when temperatures are below 28 degrees F. Quickly plunging temperatures before plants have had time to harden off can injure or kill new growth.

A barrier of burlap can be posted on the south, southwest, and windward sides of evergreens or all the way around for protection. The top is left open for air and light. Snow should be gently knocked off shrubs beginning with bottom branches first and shrubs dug out of deep snow. You can also loosely tie the stems together with rope or even shield them with a snow fence. If sliding snow from roof is a problem, you can set wooden frames over plants in winter and remove them in the spring. Trees with tender bark can be wrapped with burlap, which is removed in the spring. This will protect bark from sun scald, winter winds, and animals.

There is not much one can do about winter die back. Plants that are not so hardy can be planted on sheltered side of home. Avoid encouraging growth in late summer because new growth will be susceptible to die back. Mulch to help conserve moisture and heat.

 

If you decide you need to protect a tender bush for the winter, the Logee's Greenhouse website has an illustrated article on how to do it (for an ornamental banana).

at:

http://www.logees.com/article2005-10-23.asp

 

I too are in zone 5, dont waste your money on those styrofoam covers with the winter winds we get they just blow off the plants. Its a little late now but in the fall instead of wrapping in burlap i put 1x2 (not too close to the roots) around the plant then staple and wrap burlap like a tee-pee, but not to close it completely. The best thing I have found is that after a heavy snow to go out and remove some of the snow gently from lowest branch up, you can leave some for insulation around the bottom. Im a firm believer in you can never have too much mulch. I have several spirea and weigelia that i do not wrap and they do well, I just lightly use garden twine to gently tie / wrap the branches together to avoid breakage in heavy snow. I dont know if you have white rose in your area but they offer excellent winter protection products and advice. You can also get a white mesh stocking sleeve that you cut to any plant size, slides over plants and small evergreens / shrubs to lessen limb beakage in snow and freezing rain.