How to properly cover plants for the winter. How to cover heat-loving plants for the winter

What is the best way to cover plants? Opinions differ, and discussions sometimes take on a very serious character.

In our strip, even frost-resistant crops can not easily survive the winter. What is the problem? Why do plants resistant to -40 °C die in winter? Many rush to cover them early in the fall, and in the spring, on the contrary, they open them too late. So plants die not from frost, but from a sharp change in temperature and high humidity under the shelter itself, from dampness and wetting.
Unstable weather with sudden changes in temperature and excess moisture provokes mechanical damage(tissue rupture), rotting of the root system, etc. Snow in itself is good, but insufficient material for shelter.

Under it, stable ground cover crops winter well, for the rest, additional protection methods must be used. In addition, in our lane, often severe frosts can begin in November, and snow can fall even after the New Year. In such winters with little snow, it is almost impossible to preserve heat-loving crops without additional shelter. What material to choose?

Old methods of hiding

earth hilling

An old and proven method for years is suitable for sheltering low-growing plants. Moisture quickly drains from a plant covered with soil, but such a mulch freezes through in winter. Therefore, it is better to use not ordinary garden soil, but a mixture of peat and humus, which is lighter in structure. In addition, when hilling, you can not take the earth around the bush, thereby exposing the roots of the plant.

Spruce and pine branches

It is traditionally used on farms where there is a nearby forest. Plants covered with it are protected from cold winds, sleet and freezing rains. It does not increase the frost resistance of the plants themselves, but a favorable air space with good ventilation is created under it. A light cover made of spruce branches also saves plants from scorching spring rays.

fallen leaves

A good covering material that reliably protects against the first snowless cold and, by overheating, helps to increase soil fertility. But not all foliage can be used for winter shelter. Oak is best, you can also use maple, birch or chestnut foliage. Leaves of fruit trees are not used. Only dry foliage is suitable for shelter. Experienced gardeners it is recommended to collect it in mesh bags and lay it on the beds. With the help of such "pillows" improvised houses for plants are obtained. However, it is in the foliage that mice like to spend the winter, so be sure to lay out the poisoned baits.

Straw or stems of dry plants

In action, they are similar to foliage; they cover perennial heat-loving crops and winter crops. As in the case of foliage, wetting leads to caking of the material, a violation of the air permeability of the shelter and, as a result, the risk of diseases and death of plants.

Therefore, a film or other waterproof material (roofing) is thrown from above on shelters made of foliage or straw, leaving air from below.
Or they tie bundles of straw and make special mats, arranging shelters like a hut.

Modern shelter methods

IN last years gaining more and more popularity modern materials to cover plants. They do not need to go into the forest, they are not so expensive and are suitable for reusable use. But they also need to be handled correctly.

Sackcloth

This is a fairly strong and tough fabric, consists of linen or jute material. It does not contain impurities and additives, so it can be buried in the ground without worrying about the consequences. The trunks of young trees are tied with burlap, conifers are shaded from spring burns, roses are covered, large-leaved hydrangeas and other thermophilic crops.

However, natural burlap not only allows moisture to pass through, but also absorbs it. Under damp sacking in a thaw, a favorable environment is created for the development of rot and mold, and in frost it can turn into a hard ice shell.

Therefore, when warming plants with burlap, try to leave an air gap between the plant and the fabric.

It is impossible to use old bags of potatoes and other vegetables for shelter without treatment with fungicides. For winter shelter and spring shading, they buy clean burlap in rolls.

Non-woven polypropylene covering material (lutrasil, spunbond, geotex and others)

The material allows air, moisture and light to pass through. Provides protection for plants, both from overheating and hypothermia. Can cover the soil or use for covering structures frame structures. A material with a density of 30 g/m2 is able to protect plants in frost down to -7 °C, a material with a density of 60 g/m2 withstands strong winds and frost down to -9 °C. In addition, the nonwoven material is well protected from pecking by birds, since its fibers are sufficiently resistant to deformation.

In recent years, ready-made reusable spunbond covers are gaining popularity. They are quite durable and do not contain harmful impurities. For agricultural purposes, UV-stabilized spunbond or Agrospunbond is used. Such a cover protects plants from exposure to low temperatures, fading in the sun, as well as from rodents and insects, resistant to external influences environment does not hinder air exchange.

To shelter roses for the winter, ready-made greenhouses are produced: a cover made of non-woven covering material is quickly put on a frame made of polypropylene tubes, installed above the plant.

Photos to the material: Oksana Kapitan, Vladimir Lukyanov, Yulia Popova, Shutterstock/TASS
Thank you Shop for Nurseries for help in preparing the material and provided photographs.

EXPERT OPINION
Ksenia Ishevskaya, agronomist at the Nursery Shop
Sheltering plants for the winter middle lane usually in late October - early November. After the first frost, it is necessary to cut off the entire aerial part of perennial herbaceous plants to a height of 5-10 cm. Most perennials respond well to hilling the base of the bushes with humus or earth, which provides additional protection for the roots. Non-woven materials (lutrasil, spunbond, etc.) with a density of 40-60 g / m2, white or light shades of other colors are suitable for covering the upper part of the plants, so as not to cause overheating sheltered plants in early spring.
To cover the trunks of young seedlings of fruit trees, it is convenient to use bandages made of non-woven material: the trunk is tightly wrapped around them to the skeletal branches. This not only protects them from frost, but also becomes an obstacle for mice and hares. To cover plants such as hydrangea, young conifers, rhododendons, it is convenient to use non-woven material covers, fixed from below and above with special laces.
The cover is put on the plant and tightened. During winter thaws, such shelters must be ventilated to avoid wetting and damping of the root neck of plants.
Coniferous plants of large size in November must be protected from early spring sunburn. To do this, the crown is loosely tied with non-woven light material with a density of 30-40 g / m2, leaving air. In the spring, the shelter is removed when the average daily air temperature is stable at +1 ... +3 ° С, usually in April.

In order for the plants to survive the winter frosts safely, they need to create special shelters in the fall. Certain types of shrubs are so unpretentious that they can winter in open ground without mulching and additional protection from the cold, but most perennials still need to be wrapped. Every gardener should know which perennial flowers need to be covered for the winter and be able to choose the right covering material for plants.

Features of wintering perennials

Flowers are called perennial because after the growing season, their roots, and in some cases the aerial part, do not die off. The development of the plant freezes in winter in order to begin active growth in the spring. According to the type of root system, perennials are divided into:

bulbous;
rhizomatous;
tuber-bulbous;
tuberous.

In the warm season, the aerial part of the flowers accumulates nutrients for the winter, it is pruned with the arrival of the first frosts, which in most regions of Russia occur at the end of September-October. Pruning perennial bushes is needed to:

The height of pruning depends on the structure and height of ornamental plants. Low-growing small bushes are cut at ground level, in more powerful specimens with strong, semi-lignified branches, lower part shoots are left intact. With their help in the spring it will be possible to accurately locate the bush / flower, and in the winter they will serve to additionally hold snow, which will be a natural protection against freezing. The most winter-hardy perennials, for example, aquilegia, nivyanik, rudbeckia, astilbes, are pruned, leaving no more than 5 cm of stems above the soil.

Delphiniums and other tall plants with strong hollow stems are cut to 25 cm, otherwise water entering the branches will cause rotting of the upper part of the rhizome and destroy the culture. For irises, preparations are also made for winter: full-time leaves are cut to a height of 10 cm 2 weeks before the onset of cold weather. Curly annual shoots of clematis and similar crops are shortened so that their green parts do not freeze or rot in the shelter. Care for everyone perennial flower depends on the characteristics of the region and its winter hardiness.

What flowers to cover for the winter

The time when it is time to insulate heat-loving perennials should be judged by the weather in a particular region. It is not recommended to do this early, because in October (after the first serious cooling), very warm weather sometimes sets in. Then the prematurely wrapped flower can rot. To perennial plants you need to sprinkle garden soil and mulch while the soil is still loose, and cut shoots should be covered with spruce branches, straw and film after the onset of stable cold weather.

Roses

Inexperienced gardeners are wondering "do I need to cover roses for the winter?". Since cultivars of flowers often freeze out, they must be wrapped up during the cold season. Probably, rose bushes not adapted to too severe cold, but often weak winter shelter is to blame for their freezing. Preparation of bush plants for wintering depends on the group to which the flower belongs. For example, hybrid tea varieties of roses and certain types of climbing ones are considered the most tender.

Is it possible not to cover roses for the winter in a temperate climate? If the winter season in your region is relatively warm, while the thermometer does not drop below -10, then miniature roses and floribundas can not be wrapped - they normally tolerate cold. Among the park varieties, there are even "walruses" that do not need to be insulated even with more severe frosts. However, if you do not know what types of roses grow in your area, it is better to cover them for the winter, thanks to which you will save the bushes from excess moisture and create a stable microclimate without sudden temperature changes.

It is necessary to prepare roses for winter from the end of August, when the bushes stop watering and feeding. nitrogen fertilizers. In September, they refuse to loosen the soil so as not to prematurely wake up the buds that are still “sleeping” and not stimulate the growth of new shoots. All rose bushes, with the exception of park and climbing ones, are pruned, which is carried out approximately at the height where the top of the future shelter ends. Leaves and branches that did not have time to ripen and have a light green color are cut off, and lignified ones are cut shorter.

Before covering roses for the winter, they are treated with Bordeaux liquid or 3% iron sulfate. Fallen leaves, grass, and debris are raked out under each bush to prevent the development of spores of pathogenic fungi. After processing, each bush is planted to a height of about 20 cm, which improves the ability of the roots to “breathe”. In winter, soft soil holds air better, preventing the root system from freezing.

Hilling and pruning help the culture to endure frost more easily and avoid fungal diseases. They begin to prepare roses for shelter from mid-October or later, after the completion of the first frost and the establishment of a stable sub-zero temperature (about 5-6 degrees). Weak frosts are not terrible for roses: thanks to them, the shoots are hardened and finally ripen. It is impossible to cover the bushes prematurely, as new branches may begin to grow due to an increase in temperature, and the roots will dry out due to lack of air.

Before warming roses for the winter, you should wait for dry weather, so that during cold weather the soil will maintain moderate moisture and the risk of developing fungal diseases will be reduced to a minimum. With any type of shelter chosen, the gardener must leave an air layer between the bush and the insulation. This is important because roses, as a rule, do not freeze out in winter, but rot or get wet during the prolonged February thaws due to the material tightly covering the plant, which disrupts the normal supply of oxygen.

Experienced gardeners advise covering crops in an air-dry way. It provides the plants with a relatively stable air temperature (from 0 to -4 degrees) and provides good aeration. The work on creating an air-dry shelter has the following sequence:

a metal frame about 60 cm high is being built, which is installed around the bush;
insulation (glassine, hydro-insulating paper or cardboard shields) is laid out on top of the frame and fixed with twine;
cover must be closed plastic wrap, which will serve as a waterproofing;
the bottom of the film should be sprinkled with soil.

Bulbous

What perennial flowers should be covered for the winter? Most small-bulbous crops such as blueberries, muscari, hazel grouse, snowdrops, herbaceous peonies, crocuses, daylilies are not covered for the winter, as they are winter-hardy and easily tolerate frost. Flowers planted before mid-September have time to take root well and do not freeze out during the winter. However, later rooting seedlings require topsoil mulching.

Winter-hardy Dutch bulbous plants planted in autumn (tulips, lilies, daffodils, phloxes, primroses) are recommended to be protected with spruce branches, which will protect the flower not only from the cold, but also from mice that like to feast on bulbs. From above, it is better to cover the spruce branches with a film and cut shoots of perennials (that is, a dry shelter is formed). It is not recommended to cover the flowers with straw for the winter, as this will create excellent conditions for the reproduction of mice. An important condition for wintering all bulbous plants- unflooding of the landing site by spring waters.

rhizomatous

In autumn, plant growth stops, while in some herbaceous crops the ground part dies. Dried foliage and stems are cut off so that fungi do not develop in them. Other rhizomatous perennial flowers, in which leaves remain green after frost (bergenia, iris, hellebore), are not subjected to full, but only partial pruning. Wintering greens they need in the spring for development. An example of shelters for common perennial rhizomatous flowers:

Aquilegia (catchment). In October, leaves and stems are cut almost to the base (5-7 cm remain above the ground). Aquilegia hibernates without shelter, but its bare roots must be covered with humus, plain earth or peat.
Astilba. Young rooted flowers can winter without warming, but they are still prepared for winter by cutting off the ground dry part in late autumn and filling the roots with peat / humus (the optimal layer is 5 cm). Old plantings of astilba are covered with dry leaves and film so that the leaves do not decay due to precipitation.
Asters. Perennial asters are pruned to the base (stumps 5-10 cm tall remain). It is necessary to cover the plant for the winter in dry weather, while the roots are covered with dry leaves, humus, covered with spruce branches. Perennial asters are able to winter without shelter, but weakened by late flowering, they will give fewer shoots next season.
Badan. The roots of the plant winter well without shelter under a layer of snow. Nevertheless, so that the snowdrifts are not blown away by the wind on a hill, it is necessary to build a shelter from dry branches.

Covering material for the winter for plants

When the ground parts of perennial flowers die off or in cases where you are not sure about the frost resistance of a plant, it is better to cover it for the winter. Taking into account the size and type, to protect flowers use:

Spruce / pine spruce branches. Needle branches are available material in forest regions. Lapnik does not get wet, provides an additional air layer, perfectly holds snow, which protects plants from frost. In addition, the thorns repel rodents, so spruce branches are especially valued for sheltering young seedlings. In early spring, the material protects the plant from sunburn. The disadvantage of spruce branches is that it oxidizes the soil, while some plants prefer an alkaline environment. Sometimes the needles get sick and branches with bloom can infect healthy flowers, so the spruce branches are carefully examined before use.
A layer of mulch or soil. Peat is effective for spudding the soil in near-stem circles in order to protect the roots from frost, but it will not become a full-fledged heater. In addition, the soil is not suitable for all crops, since it acidifies the soil and actively absorbs moisture, which makes it compact and protects the flowers from the cold worse.
Shavings, sawdust. They only need to mulch the soil. Like needles, they serve as oxidizing agents - this fact should also be taken into account in accordance with the characteristics of the bush / flower. before mulching the ground, the sawdust is thoroughly dried so that they do not get wet during the winter, they are covered with polyethylene on top. The disadvantage of this method is that sawdust can be banned.
Non-woven material. Spunbond or agrofibre is made from plypropylene - the material is durable, lightweight, easy to use, protects well from frost, freely passing air. However, it will not cope with severe frosts, therefore it is not suitable for regions with an unstable climate. In addition, spunbond forms a humid microclimate, so it must be fixed on frames to avoid contact with shoots.
Bag. Rough, dense fabric is used to cover the trunks of young bushes and heat-loving perennials. A burlap cover is not the best method of protection from the cold, because it gets wet, and in frost it freezes, resembling an ice dome. It is recommended to use such covering material exclusively new in order to avoid the appearance of harmful microbes on the bushes.
Lutrasil. The non-woven material is made from polypropylene, it is combined with other coverings, since it cannot protect perennials from temperatures below -7 degrees. Lutrasil is highly breathable, perfectly transmits light, prevents harm caused by insects and birds.
Straw. She covers gardens with winter plantings and is used to protect perennial flowers. During rains, the straw must be protected with polyethylene. Dry grass perfectly retains snow, but mice like to nest in it, which harm plants. In addition, the flowers under the straw sometimes die.

air shelters

Insulation of plants for the winter is necessary in order to prevent the harm caused by sudden changes in temperature. Air cushions save from such misfortune. To create them, use lutrasil or film. A rack tripod is installed around perennial flowers, and a cover made of non-woven material is put on top. The disadvantage of covering with lutrasil / film is the risk of dispute or overheating of plants during a snowless winter. Then the flowers wake up ahead of time and soon die from low temperatures.

To avoid the death of crops, gardeners build a “stool” type shelter with transparent walls through which light penetrates well and a dark top that protects against overheating. This option is ideal for rhododendrons and coniferous varieties. To form insulation, pegs are inserted into the ground around the bush, on top of which a plywood shield is placed. The structure is covered with a film, burying the edges into the ground, while the shoots should not come into contact with the shelter.

Air dry shelters

In addition to air, a layer of sawdust, dry leaves, hay is used as a heater. Supports-blocks are installed around the flowers, a boardwalk is made on top, which is covered with soil mixed with dry material. All this is covered with plastic wrap. The sun's rays do not penetrate into such a shelter of plants for the winter, however, the temperature is always kept at the same level, optimal for perennial crops. Air-dry heaters are suitable for plants that are hard to tolerate frost - yucca, deciduous rhododendrons, gingo, etc.

Video

IN autumn period plants begin to actively prepare for the winter cold, slowing down growth processes, shedding foliage. But not all planted crops will be able to survive the period of frost without preliminary preparation made by man. Therefore, not only spring makes much attention to be paid to the land and the seedlings planted on it. Autumn is the period of wrapping plants with special materials. These actions must be done before the first frosts, because winter is a difficult period, and it will be difficult for flowers without outside help.

Why cover plants?

Increasingly, crops appear on our plots that were bred and grew in other climatic conditions and have never been subject to frost. Of course, almost all seedlings are already modified hybrids, which will be easier to adapt to a more severe climate. But this does not guarantee that the plant will endure frosts as well as the culture of the local flora. Therefore, imported seedlings require more attention and care.

Frost resistance of seedlings depends on many factors, here are just a few:

All of the above will lead to the fact that if you do not apply covering material, the plant will not survive the winter and will die.

Covering material

Covering material produced by modern industry can be used both for food crops and for decorative ones. In addition, nature itself provides man with means for sheltering plants to help him.

Basic natural and industrial covering material:

All these covering materials are able to protect planted crops from the severe frosts of winter, but they also have disadvantages that are worth considering.

For example, lutrasil, with all its insulating properties, does not contribute to normal air circulation, which leads to heating of plants when the outside temperature rises. This can happen during a period when winter took a breather for a short period, raising the temperature, which provoked a thaw.

Humus can also have a significant drawback, which will overshadow all its advantages. This covering material may contain pests or serious diseases. All this cannot but affect the health of sheltered crops.

Covering roses for the winter

One of the most beautiful flowers so loved by gardeners, no doubt, are roses. And it is very important that the process of preparing rose bushes for winter goes right, this will make it impossible for your favorite bushes to die from freezing. And in different species hiding methods may differ, so you need to take into account all the nuances.

So a rose that weaves should be prepared long before the onset of the first frost. Preparation begins with the fact that at the beginning of August the fertilizing of the bushes with fertilizers that contain nitrogen is already stopped. The next step is to remove incompletely formed shoots from the bushes to the place of ripening, and this should happen in October.

Then the foliage is cut off or cut off from the bushes and the lashes of the plant are bent down, but not allowing them to touch the ground. These manipulations are made in order to make it convenient to use the covering material.

In the same way that weaving bushes are prepared for winter, it is necessary to make bending down branches standard roses to the ground. But this must be done carefully so as not to damage the integrity of the bush. All other varieties of these flowers are cut in such a way that the covering material well insulates the roots and some above-ground part of the plant from the effects of the external environment.

It is necessary to take into account the fact that if you wrap roses at sub-zero temperatures, they will provoke their death. Therefore, flowers need to be prepared for the cold period when the temperature outside is still above zero, at least zero.

Covering chrysanthemum bushes

Chrysanthemums have long been a familiar crop in garden plots. But not all lovers of these unpretentious flowers cover them on winter period therefore, during severe frosts, some varieties of these seedlings may die.

To avoid losses, immediately after the flowers fade, you should perform simple manipulations so that the plants will surely survive the winter and delight everyone next season with their flowering. The bushes are cut, pressed to the ground and covered with a layer of humus or mulch. For best result it is necessary to cover the formed mounds with waterproof material, which must be removed only after the earth has completely thawed.

We cover clematis

Clematis beds must be prepared for the winter period. You need to cut all varieties of these flowers, but the length of the stem varies from thirty centimeters to one and a half meters in height. Therefore, before cutting, it would be better to consult with a specialist on how long to cut the planted variety.

Then the bushes are freed from all extra branches. The remaining vines are twisted into a ring and pressed to the ground. A layer of twenty centimeters of natural thermal insulation material. Farther need to install frame to be covered with waterproof material. This will need to be done in such a way that there is a small gap above the ground for ventilation.

With the first spring thaws, the covering material must be removed, because the plants can overheat and ban.

In order for all the flowers planted on the plots to give friendly shoots in the spring, you need to prepare them for a comfortable wintering. BUT good conditions during frosts, it will provide the right covering material that will protect from snow, wind and low temperatures, until the first rays of the sun warm the ground.

How to cover plants for the winter? Methods and materials

How to cover plants for the winter Winter cold is approaching, and new job waiting for plant lovers in the country. Every year there are fewer and fewer beds occupied by traditional garden crops, and more and more plants appear from countries with a different (warm) climate. These may be well acclimatized hybrids. flower plants, exotic shrubs, interesting trees and creepers that adapt well to the new climate. But all the same, they need those environmental conditions to which they are accustomed in their former homeland.

Summer residents with experience are ready to fully meet the winter cold, but for beginners there are continuous questions: when to cover, which plants to cover, how to properly cover, than to cover and other equally important ones. We will try to find answers to these questions today.

Why cover plants for the winter?

Winter shelter is necessary:

to create a warm microclimate for each plant during long frosts, below -10 ... -15 ° С;
for better engraftment of the root system of late transplanted and poorly rooted plants;
from freezing of the superficially located root system and young shoots, when the root system of perennial plants freezes through and is poorly restored during frosts from -10 ° C, lasting more than 5-6 days;
from damage to trunks from frost - during winter thaws followed by severe frosts, cracks form on the bark of trees, the subcortical layer of wood is damaged, the trees gradually fall ill, are damaged by pests and die;
from sunburn; shelter is carried out in the second half of winter, when the sun is especially hot; snow reflects the sun's rays and enhances the "burning" effect on trees (conifers are especially affected);
from winter "drought" (strong winds in snowless winters); strong dry winds dry up the needles, which leads to the death of representatives of the coniferous family;
for rodent protection.

Preparing for the winter

Sheltering plants for the winter-spring period is the only job where you hurry - you will add tears to yourself. It is necessary to start preparing for wintering in July-August and conduct it comprehensively.

First, check with reliable sources which types of plants are subject to shelter, and what types of shelters are recommended for them. Secondly, according to generally accepted technology, all plants to be covered do not need to be fed with nitrogen in the second half of summer. If you need top dressing (root, foliar), then you need to use phosphorus-potassium, phosphate fertilizers. You can feed with ash or ash solution. Nitrogen causes rapid growth of shoots, and they do not have time to ripen by the onset of cold weather and, as a rule, freeze out in winter.

In order for the plants to endure the winter cold well, the soil under the plants must be moist. Therefore, autumn plentiful watering of plants is necessary before they go into wintering. Ephedra must be well watered with enough water before wintering. Until late autumn, and even grabbing the beginning of winter, they actively evaporate moisture and can simply die from “drought”.

In addition, you need to carry out autumn sanitary pruning. Remove dry, crooked, obviously diseased, inaccurate branches sticking to the sides. Separate work is to clean the flower beds from dried stems, leaves, other debris, prepare the soil under the trees and shrubs.

Covering plants earlier than necessary is just as harmful.

When to start hiding?

In the southern regions(especially those with little snow) shelters are often made to conserve snow. Warm shelters are needed only for representatives of subtropical and tropical zones, who cannot tolerate even slight cold snaps. But such sissies are often placed in winter winter gardens, grown in greenhouses and only for the summer they are taken out to the open garden.

In the middle regions shelter plants for the winter begin from the end of October. With a long warm autumn, the shelter time is shifted to November, and for individual crops, to the month of December. They shelter mainly from prolonged frosts, sunburn and withering winds.

In the northern regions for timely shelter, it is more practical to focus on the onset of a constant cold snap below -10 ... -15 ° С.

It is impossible to carry out shelter (especially warm) before the onset of cold weather, but also to shelter late (when the winter came with frost is also bad).

They remove shelters depending on the region, but not earlier than March-April or with a steady increase in temperature above zero. Shelter is removed gradually. Warm-to-cold weather, especially during return frosts, can damage thermophilic crops. At the same time, if you are late with opening, plants from excess moisture warm air will start to sag and die. Shelter from sunburn is removed after the snow melts.

Basic rules for winter shelter

Any type of shelter should provide plants with air access. The method of shelter should exclude the accumulation of moisture in the area of the root system. Plants will simply begin to rot, become covered with fungal mold and die.

When installing volumetric air shelters, the branches should not touch the wooden walls, mesh, covering material. Freezing leads to disease and death of the frozen part of the plant.

Shelter of plants is carried out gradually in order to accustom the plant to a lack, and then to the absence of light. Completely covered should be a retired (sleeping) plant.

The main methods of winter shelter include hilling, mulching, air-dry shelter from artificial materials and various other devices.

Hilling

The most common and acceptable way to preserve the root system in regions with a sharp change from warm weather to cold snaps and frosts. The hilling of young seedlings, shrubs, flower perennials provides a constant temperature in the area of the root collar, helps to keep the buds in the surface part of the plants and roots located close to the soil surface viable.

Hilling of plants begins after the onset of cold weather, when the soil freezes slightly. If you spud during a warm period, and even with moist soil, then the bark at the base of the plants may begin to rot, which will lead to the death of the root neck and buds.

Plants are spudded with soil, which is raked into a mound around the base of the crop so as not to expose root system. The mound is made from 10 to 40 cm high, depending on the height of the stem of seedlings or perennial shoots of the bush. If there is not enough land for hilling, you can use the garden, but not exposing the roots, collecting a mound from the soil around the plant. With the onset of warm weather, the hill is gradually opened, trying to keep the slope so that the spring moisture runs from the trunk to the edge of the crown and does not stagnate at the base of the plants.

From winter frosts they cover with hilling hybrid tea roses, Korean chrysanthemum, eremurus and other heat-loving plants, whose height does not exceed 20-30 cm in height.

Mulching is more convenient to carry out on garden and flower plants that are not cold-resistant enough, with a superficial root system

Mulching

This type of shelter is more convenient to carry out on garden and flower plants that are not cold-resistant enough, with a superficial root system. When using mulch, the soil around the plants is not touched. It is covered with dry material using autumn healthy dry leaves of fruit, landscape gardening and forest plants (birch, maple, chestnut). It is undesirable to mulch the soil under oak and walnut leaf plants.

High-moor peat is also used as mulch, sawdust (rotted, semi-decomposed), humus, mature compost, small wood chips, crushed bark can be used. Before mulching at the base of the trunk of young trees, a small mound is made of sand or soil, no higher than 7-10 cm, and mulch up to 40 cm high is already scattered around it. It is impossible to mulch the trunk directly - the damping process may begin.

Remember!Plants often freeze out not from frost, but from improper shelter.

Mulch is very good material to reduce heat loss by the soil and preserve the root system of garden and flower plants. But, there is one BUT. In a rainy snowless autumn, leaves, peat, sawdust get wet and become accomplices of putrefactive processes (especially for plants with a ground rosette) or, in subsequent frosts, freeze into an ice ball that does not protect the root system from frost.

In addition, peat, sawdust, shavings acidify the soil during decomposition, so not every type of plant can be mulched with them. Mulch, like snow, is very comfortable material to maintain surface temperature in regions with early snow.

Mulching protects against frost, using dry leaves or humus, daisies, carnations, primroses, pansies, hyacinths, daffodils, phloxes, garden daisies, rudbeckia, delphinium, garden peonies, astilba and other plant species as mulch.

Shelter with natural materials

Perennials and decorative low shrubs can be covered with spruce branches (branches of coniferous trees and shrubs), dead wood (stalks of sunflower, corn), ferns or brushwood. In some regions, straw, reed mats and other natural materials are successfully used for insulation.

Lapnik

coniferous branches- a good shelter, but only absolutely healthy material can be used. Lapnik does not accumulate moisture (like leaves), it passes air well and retains snow, which serves as an excellent insulation for shrubs and other sprawling tall plants. Prickly needles repel rodents.

Spruce branches are used for tying boles of young trees from grass by hares and covering young coniferous plantings from winter and early spring sunburn. When using spruce branches for shelters, it must be taken into account that during the winter it loses part of the needles, which, crumbling to the ground, begin to rot and acidify the soil. These shelters can only be used for crops that resist acidification of the soil.

Brushwood

The brushwood itself does not protect plants from frost, but does not interfere with air exchange, does not rot in wet weather, holds snow well, creating a positive microclimate under the snow cover. It is convenient to use in regions with snowy winters.

Fern

It is easy to build a hut from strong fern branches over low-growing (up to 0.5-0.7 m) heat-loving shrubs and flowering perennials. It combines the properties of spruce branches and dry foliage well, but additionally requires shelter from moisture with waterproof fiber or film.

Straw

On garden winter crops and plantings, straw, laid out in a loose layer 7-10 cm high, is a good and inexpensive shelter. It is practical to use straw for warming flower perennials. Covered from above with brushwood, sunflower stalks, corn, it retains snow blown off sometimes by winds and retains heat quite well.

But this covering material also has its drawbacks. Like leaves, straw accumulates moisture (gets wet). In warm weather, a humid microclimate is created under the layer of straw, which leads to its mold and mold infection of sheltered crops. Mice and other small rodents like to nest in straw, pests and plant pathogens (fungi, microbes, viruses) hibernate. Under the straw, the accumulated moisture slows down the thawing of the soil, which requires early cleaning of the shelter for faster heating of the upper layers of the soil.

If there is an abundance of straw, and there is no other covering material, then it is better to make straw mats from it. They do not let water through, are light and do not put pressure on plants. Under them, the plants remain dry, they keep warm well during frosts.

Coniferous branches are a good shelter, but only absolutely healthy material can be used.

deadwood

Deadwood from sunflower and corn can be used as an auxiliary material for winter shelter of tall ornamental grasses. Usually, they begin to ensure their wintering after complete flowering with the onset of the first frosts.

On a dry sunny day (not foggy and wet), dry stems and wilted leaves of perennials are tied into one or more loose bundles or sheaves. Each of them can be tied in 2-3 places (giant miscanthus, decorative reeds, Japanese sedge, fescue) so that the winter winds do not ruffle the sheaves. The leaves of the plants themselves serve as additional protection. Remove them in the spring.

For tying, use soft twine or other materials (not fishing line). Around these bushes they stick a dead wood palisade and also tie it in 2-3 places. It turns out a fence, which serves as an additional fence to keep the snow and provides additional protection from frost and wind.

Artificial air shelters for plants

In addition to natural (improvised) covering materials, which are almost universally used by summer residents for warming garden, flowerbed plants and lawns, the market offers a large selection of artificial covering materials: agrofibre, spunbond, agrotex, lutrasil, burlap, jute, various types of film, etc. .

The main and most acceptable methods of winter shelters using artificial materials are:

free swaddling;
use of ready-made covers;
bending down to the ground;
air dry cover.

Free swaddling and ready-made covers are used for winter shelter of young seedlings of conifers and fruit crops, heat-loving shrubs. This is the main covering material in the construction of air shelters over plants on wooden base in the form of hut, stool, triangular (tripod) and other types of structures.

Free swaddling

From February to April, there is a wave of temperature changes, snowfalls, followed by sunny days that threaten sunburn for coniferous plants. The most vulnerable during this period are young woody and bushy conifers 1.0-1.5 m in height. Under the influence of the sun, the needles awaken. Photosynthesis requires water, but the roots of plants are still dormant. Moisture does not enter the aerial part, and the needles are dehydrated.

Physiological desiccation sets in, which is superimposed solar radiation. A physiological-thermal burn is formed, causing fragmentary and sometimes complete death of a young plant.

The best way to protect the trees from burns - swaddling with any sufficiently strong (so that the wind does not tear the thin fabric) breathable non-woven fiber. The lower edge of the fiber is fixed to the soil. You can just cover it with snow. The plant is wrapped around from the bottom up, slightly overlapping the edges of the fabric to each other, to the top.

Swaddling is light (not tight), it is fixed in the course of swaddling with a cord, twine. The wrapper is removed in April, when the root system of plants is already starting to work (the soil thaws on the bayonet of a shovel), water enters the needles. The sun's rays are no longer afraid of the plant. Swaddling in February should be systematically checked, especially after snowfalls, and excess snow should be shaken off wrapped trees.

Instead of swaddling, you can use special shading nets with different shading density (50-75%). They are especially effective in the southern regions.

Advice.Experienced gardeners in April, in order to quickly awaken the root system of conifers from hibernation, shed a near-stem circle (not a bole) with a bucket of boiling water or very hot water (but just don’t boil the roots).

Plantings of conifers of southeastern, southwestern or southern exposure, planted against the background of a white building, wall, fence, should be protected from sunburn. Swaddling is repeated regardless of the type of tree conifers up to 3 years of age and kept at a later age for arborvitae, cypress, junipers, Canadian spruce varieties and other plants, based on the results of observations.

The best way to protect trees from burns is to swaddle them with any sufficiently strong breathable fiber.

Using ready-made cases

From sunburn and drying winds, you can use ready-made covers and cones (sold in the store) or sew them yourself. Covers are more practical to use for shelter from sunburn or withering wind coniferous shrubs with a wide spreading crown, tree peony, and cones - for young trees.

A cover, a cone, and other shelters are thrown over the top of the plant, straightened along the crown and, not reaching the ground, fixed with sticks and ropes. From above the plant is closed, and from below it is freely ventilated. This method is more convenient to use in regions with little snow and relatively low negative temperatures. Plants are shaded with the onset of a bright solstice and removed in cloudy weather with a steady positive temperature.

crouching

Many climbing plants, lianas, ornamental shrubs, the flowering of which is formed on the shoots of the previous year, the aerial part needs protection from the winter cold. They are protected by bending down. To do this, a flooring is prepared under the plant from wooden gratings or special wire stands for isolation from moisture (protection from decay, mold). Creepers, vines, climbing shoots taken from supports are laid on the flooring.

If the branches are elastic, they are carefully bent and fixed with ropes to pegs driven into the soil or to the flooring. Bending down must be done before the onset of frost. Otherwise, after frost, fragile wood breaks easily when bent. In areas with little snow in winter, they are covered with brushwood, spruce branches to keep the snow. From above spruce branches, brushwood, any cut branches can be covered with any agro-cloth that allows air to pass through (an air gap is required).

By bending down, weigels, hydrangeas, climbing roses, European grape varieties, clematis of 1 and 2 pruning groups, Brown's honeysuckle, codonopsis, lemongrass, Chinese wisteria, campsis, forsythia, rhododendrons protect from winter cold. With the onset of thaws, plants begin to open. The opening is carried out gradually to protect the plants from sunburn.

Air dry shelter

In cold regions, the most reliable protection against winter cold are various designs in the form of a rigid frame and covering material. The frame can have various shapes - a cone, a cube, a "stool", a round or triangular hut. It is advisable to use warm materials for the frame (boards, plywood, wooden rods, plastic, etc.). Iron will only add cold.

The frame must withstand a layer of snow up to 50-60 cm high and gusts of wind. The covering material consists of 2 layers - insulating and moisture insulating. Insulating or heat-insulating covering material of a rigid structure, depending on the climatic conditions of the region, can be spruce branches, dry healthy leaves, mats made of straw, reeds, old newspapers, burlap, modern non-woven materials, necessarily breathable.

The moisture insulating layer is made of a film or roofing material, other moisture-proof materials. Before installing the frame, remove all the remnants of fallen leaves and other debris under the plants. The soil should be moderately dry, plants without leaves. Plants create conditions of complete rest. So that they do not get wet, they leave vents that open when thaws come to ventilate from excess moisture accumulated during the cold period and fresh air.

The main condition for air-dry shelter is the presence air gap between the insulating and waterproof layers. It is she who creates the necessary constant temperature. Covers can be complex. So, the "house" can be combined with hilling and mulching.

The following types of garden and park plants need mandatory air-dry protection in winter: roses, cypress, boxwood, juniper, rhododendrons, alpine plants, thuja, young conifers, many perennial flowers, southern shrubs and others.

Dear reader! It is impossible in one article to cover all types and methods of sheltering plants from winter weather conditions, describe all the materials used to ensure a comfortable winter rest for our southern pets and exotics, list all types of plants that need shelter. We have no doubt that every summer resident has his own well-established ways of preserving plants from frost, spring temperature changes, and sunburn. Share your knowledge and experience in the comments. We will be very grateful to you.

Harvest in the bins, seaming in the cellars, autumn is coming to its logical conclusion, summer residents can relax and take a break from the works of the righteous. Oil painting, but one stroke spoils the composition - not done important thing, without which there is a risk in the new season to be left with nothing. The cold weather is approaching, and it's time to take care of warm clothes not only for yourself, but also for your plants.

The issue of shelter only seems simple. In practice, difficulties arise: which "pets" need additional protection, and who will only get worse from it? Some plants are extremely sensitive to cold, while others rot at the slightest attempt to create greenhouse conditions for them.

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The cold can create a lot of problems on personal plot. The use of covering materials solves most of them:

protects against wind attacks;
makes it possible to forget about the detrimental effects of temperature changes;
protects from low temperatures;
prevents dangerous glaciation;
prevents the bark from cracking under the influence of adhering snow;
prevents severe sunburn.

What are we going to hide?

Consider each region separately and its weather long and unproductive, so let's take the average option - the average (pardon the pun) band. In recent years, the climate on the planet has been working wonders and presents completely unexpected "gifts", so it is impossible to say for sure that those plants that have always needed shelter will not rot in it tomorrow, and vice versa. Therefore, you should always focus on a specific case, and advice is just advice. Next, we offer you recommendations from specialists and gardeners with vast experience. Do not rush to blindly apply them on your site, first evaluate the totality of all local factors.

Conifers

Everything is simple here. Be sure to cover young seedlings. Spruce branches can be used as a covering material. If it is not available, choose spunbond - it is easy to handle, reusable, looks attractive and neat. One shelter is not enough - the ground at the base of the trunks of seedlings is mulched. Winter watering is equally important. Having been saturated with moisture, young conifers more easily endure the winter cold. It is important not to overdo it with the amount of liquid - the earth should be saturated, and the swamp at the roots will only cause harm. Grown up and adult conifers do not cover, it is better not to neglect mulching, but watering is a must for all garden inhabitants.

Snowy winters can lead to crown damage in spreading trees and shrubs. Gardeners are advised to tie branches to avoid losses. If your conifers grow near the house, or you often visit the country, just shake off the hats from the plants after heavy snowfalls. It turns out a double benefit - both conifers are healthy, and walks in the fresh air contribute to health and longevity.

Coniferous crops cover only in the first years of planting

Roses

You can talk endlessly about finicky roses and how to care for them. A lot of materials are devoted to these beauties, so we will not talk for a long time and in detail. Brief squeeze - roses need shelter, but it must be done when frosts become stable.

In the video - fast and simple work available to everyone.

Roses aren't the only flower garden residents in need of an extra winter coat. For example, rhododendrons and hydrangeas tolerate frost well, but low temperatures combined with a lack of snow can adversely affect appearance and even kill plants. For small perennials, thorough mulching of the root soil is usually sufficient.

Clematis

These amazing vines are just asking for shelter. It seems that the plants will never be able to survive the winter without loss, so my hands itch to be sure to use several layers at once. Don't make mistakes! Clematis need shelters, but only those made in accordance with all the rules. Remember that you need to choose a dry day for the procedure, the covering material itself, even if it is spruce branches, should by no means be wet.

A negative result is also a result

Many gardeners share stories about trying to save various exotic (and not so) plants from the winter cold. Most of them do not die, the roots remain intact, but from season to season you have to wait until the sissy recovers and returns to the lost size. For example, this applies to figs.