Garden Series: How to Winterize and Protect Your Garden TIP 7
- Shidonna Raven
- 4 hours ago
- 2 min read
April 7, 2025
Source: Almanac
Photo Source: Unsplash,
7. Prepare Trees and Shrubs for Winter
Do not prune trees and shrubs right before winter. Even if they look a little overgrown, wait until next spring. Pruning involves removing tissue and opening wounds without time to heal before the cold arrives. Pruning also stimulates a tree or shrub to attempt to grow, but any new growth produced in the fall will likely be killed because it has not had time to harden off or become woodier.
If you get early snows in your area, cover small trees and deciduous shrubs with a wooden structure to protect them from heavy snow. Or, circle them with a cylinder of chicken wire fencing and fill in the space between the tree and the fence with straw or shredded leaves. Or, drive stakes into the ground at four corners around the plant and wrap burlap or heavy plastic around the stakes, securing it at the top, center, and bottom with twine.
For young fruit trees, it’s often a good idea to wrap the tree’s lower trunk with a pest-proof tree wrap, which will prevent mice and voles from gnawing on the tree’s bark during the winter.
Tree wrap will also help to prevent winter injury caused by premature thawing. In late winter, the combination of warm, sunny days and still-freezing nights can cause the thin bark of young trees to split. This is especially prevalent in trees with a southern or southwestern exposure. Wrapping their trunks with tree wrap or shading them from the winter sun can prevent bark injury.
If you plan to buy a live Christmas tree this season, dig the hole where you’ll plant it before the ground freezes. Store the soil you remove in the garage or basement, where it won’t freeze. Place a board over the hole and mark the location so that you can find it if it snows.
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