Frost and Wind Protection
Our winter is well and truly underway and we have had a couple of nasty swipes by the weather but the ground is still warm and it's not too late to put in some spring flowering bulbs or some onion sets. One of the most important things to remember if you do, though, is to give adequate frost and general 'bad' weather protection. Here I will run through a few methods to 'winter proof' your plants.
Wind protection
The wind is picking up and even though most of the trees have lost their leaves, any older trees that may have rotting branches need to be spotted and chopped back. It's better to do it in a controlled way now yourself than to wait for a brand to land on your shed or car in the next storm! If it's a larger tree and you are unsure of how to do it, call any local tree surgeon and they can do it safely for you.
If you have any young shrubs or saplings that you have planted make sure they are firmly stakes and securely soft tied onto their stakes. We have a range of stakes and ties in store to choose from depending on the size of your plant. I would always advise using the larger collar type ties such as the Gardag Tree Ties 600mm for any young fruit trees as they don't chafe or damage the bark like some of the more narrow ties can.
If you have any exposed border flower beds consider planting some hardier shrubs (Holly/Euonymus/Grisselinia) as a block at whichever way the prevalent wind is coming from. Bay laurel (Laurus nobilis) works very well for this, is evergreen, and you will have an endless supply of bay leaf for your stews too!
Frost protection
If planting anything at the moment it's important to give it a little frost protection, especially at the beginning. This can be done by simply throwing a bit of fresh manure on top or layering over with a bit of hay or straw. Any border flower beds can have a decent layer (2-4cm) of bark mulch added and this will insulate the top soil layer from any harder frost that might come. Younger or more tender shrubs and trees can be protected by wrapping some hessian sacking around the lower/base of the trunk. This is especially important for the likes of Tree Ferns (Dicksonia antartica), they do not tolerate frost. In fact if it all possible it's best to move them to a more sheltered indoor spot such as a greenhouse over winter.
Waterlogging and flooding
If you have areas of your garden that are prone to water logging, move any plants in the area away from it. If this is not possible try to set up some sort of drainage system. This can be as simple as digging a mini trench whichever way the fall goes to create a flow away or again putting down some bark mulch. The bark mulch helps by slowing and absorbing the water from heavy showers which will give the soil time to drain it away without becoming overwhelmed.
Hopefully we will not have to contend with too many big storms this winter but if we do at least we can be prepared! :)
