How to Winterize Your Garden for Cold Weather Protection

Winterizing your garden involves protecting plants with mulch, wrapping sensitive specimens, cleaning up debris, and preparing beds for spring growth.

1. Clear Disease and Pests Away. Remove all dead plants, fallen leaves, and rotting fruit from your garden beds. This debris harbors diseases and pests that can damage plants over winter. Rake up leaves from lawns and garden areas, composting healthy material while discarding anything that shows signs of disease. Pull up annual plants that have finished their growing season and add healthy plant material to your compost pile.
2. Insulate Roots from Freezing. Spread a 4-6 inch layer of mulch around trees, shrubs, and perennial plants. Use organic materials like shredded bark, wood chips, or straw. Keep mulch 3 inches away from plant stems and tree trunks to prevent rot and pest problems. The mulch insulates roots from freezing temperatures and helps retain soil moisture throughout winter.
3. Shield Tender Plants Now. Protect tender shrubs and small trees with burlap wrapping or frost cloth. Create a loose tent around the plant, securing the material with stakes or ties. For roses, mound soil or mulch around the base of the canes after the first hard frost. Evergreen shrubs in windy locations benefit from burlap screens to prevent winter burn from cold, drying winds.
4. Prevent Frozen Pipe Damage. Disconnect and drain all garden hoses, storing them in a garage or shed. Turn off water to outdoor spigots and drain any remaining water to prevent pipe freezing. Remove and store sprinkler heads, hose reels, and any other watering equipment that could be damaged by freezing temperatures.
5. Relocate Pots to Safety. Move potted plants to protected areas like an unheated garage, covered porch, or against a south-facing wall. Group containers together and wrap them with insulating material if they must stay outdoors. For large containers that cannot be moved, wrap the pots with bubble wrap or burlap to prevent the soil from freezing solid.
6. Finish Grass Strong. Give your lawn a final mow, cutting grass slightly shorter than usual but not scalping it. Apply winter fertilizer if you haven't already done so in early fall. Continue raking leaves regularly to prevent them from smothering the grass. In areas with heavy foot traffic, consider laying down temporary walkways to protect dormant grass.
7. Guard Trees Against Wildlife. Install tree guards around young trees to prevent bark damage from rodents and deer. For newly planted trees and shrubs, apply extra mulch and consider wrapping trunks with tree wrap. Prune dead, damaged, or diseased branches from trees and shrubs, but avoid major pruning that could stimulate new growth vulnerable to frost.