How do we protect plants from cold, snow, frost?
The winter season is quite difficult for our garden plants, as cold, frost, snow and hail can create significant problems.
Very often, adverse weather conditions show signs on the leaves and damage to the shoots, which remain on our plants even after the end of winter. In some cases, the effects of winter weather are devastating to plants and crops.
Irreversible damage caused in winter is the broken shoots and branches, the freezing of the roots, until the plants dry up or their production is completely destroyed.
Vegetables, small ornamental plants and young fruit trees are at greater risk during frost.
Also, there are significant problems with plants that we have in pots or plants that have been transplanted recently and do not have a strong root system.
In today’s article, we describe in what ways we can prepare for winter, to help the plants we have on our balcony and in our garden withstand the cold and limit the damage that bad weather can cause.
7 ways to help plants withstand the cold and frost of winter
Protecting plants from the cold includes a series of good practices to strengthen plant defenses, as well as more drastic measures for sensitive plants. Below, we list in detail the most important tips for the care of our garden plants during the winter.
1. We move the plants to sheltered places on the balcony: Several plants we have on our north facing balcony are exposed to bad weather and strong winds. So we make sure to immediately transfer to more sheltered places on our balcony, to south-facing spots, to protect from cold, frost and snow. We provide protection on the balcony, for example, for small fruit trees such as potted lemons, potted oranges and potted tangerines as well as sensitive aromatic plants such as basil, mint and mint or for ornamental plants such as Benjamin fig, fig . lyrata and the shefflera.
2. Protect the most sensitive plants inside the house: Some more sensitive plants, such as gardenias and azaleas, succulents and cacti, we move them overnight or for days, if any, inside the house to protect them from severe frost and snow. The plants that we carry inside the house, we place them in a bright place, long heating bodies, such as radiators and fireplaces that can cause yellowing and drying at the edges of their leaves. Once the wave of bad weather has passed, we return our plants outside to their original position on our balcony.
3. We cover the plants with anti-wind fabrics and nets: During the winter, we can cover the ornamental plants or young fruit trees that are planted in pots with special anti-wind fabrics supplied by specialized agricultural stores. By covering the plants, we ensure protection from the impending frost, snow and hail. We cover the plants carefully, in such a way that leaves and shoots do not break and we do not tie themtightly to avoid poor ventilation conditions that can cause yellowing of the plants’ foliage.
4. We avoid putting fertilizer on the plants: In winter, and especially in bad weather conditions, we avoid putting fertilizer on the ornamental plants of our garden and especially nitrogen fertilizers. We also avoid pruning and removing their flowers before frost so as not to encourage the start of new growth in winter. In particular, if a new tender develops after pruning, the one that is destroyed due to adverse conditions, from low temperatures, snow and hail. What has as a result, that our plant becomes stuck in view of the spring and will significantly delay the growth of the vegetation.
5. Add manure to plants before frost: Manure can greatly help protect against frost as it warms the soil. We incorporate manure in time around the roots of the plants in anticipation of the frost to increase the temperature of the soil and make the root system work smoothly. So our plants will continue to contain water and nutrients from the soil, despite the low temperatures and will not wither during severe weather and frost.
6. Foliar sprays of plants: There are several formulations to spray plants for protection against frost and adverse conditions. We spray plants with organic seaweed extract or an organic mix of trace elements and amino acids before bad weather to boost them before the frost, snow and hail fall. In particular, the seaweed fertilizer that we get from agricultural stores is rich in trace elements, amino acids and natural hormones, reduces damage to plants, stimulates them and restores them to their original good condition.
7. We put a hydrogenation system on our plants: During the frost season, we can water our plants and fruit trees with composition systems and sprinklers. In this way, we protect our plants from our plants as we diffuse moisture into the atmosphere and the plants do not freeze. This method of watering plants is used by many fruit tree growers during the winter. It is mainly applied to light soils that ensure drainage, to avoid excessive moisture in the soil.
And a secret for a garden that can withstand the cold. If we are in northern areas of the country or in mountainous areas, we choose plants that are resistant to the cold and plants suitable for altitude. We prefer deciduous fruit trees and shrubs, as well as deciduous ornamental plants that shed their leaves in winter. Deciduous plants go dormant during the winter and thus have significant resistance to frost and snow.