As much as I love gardening and seeing the fruits of my labor, I really dislike the chore of winterizing my gardens. While I’m sad to say goodbye to my colorful blooms, it’s knowing that snow won’t be too far behind that gives me pause. Because Zone 4 winters are so erratic, I want to make sure that my plants are well taken care of and live to see yet another spring.
September is when the work begins, and I tackle the chores with my handy To Do list. I don’t necessarily need to do every item every year, but this is a great guide to ensure I don’t miss something important. My end goal is to make spring cleanup easier, and enable my plants to survive healthfully over the winter.
To Do list for winterizing my gardens
- Inventory all perennials to see what needs splitting, transplanting, or removal. Double check which plants are best split in the Fall versus Spring.
- Split and transplant, as needed. Offer extras to friends and family. Maybe there’s a great trade to be made! For the best chance at survival, it’s important that anything you split and/or transplant gets a solid 6 weeks in the ground before the first frost.
- Cut back perennials to 4” from the crown. I do need to say that sometimes I do this in the fall, other times in the spring. It really depends on how much work I have to do outside as well as my day-job schedule. If I’m short on time in the fall, I wait until spring. I will say it’s easier to see what’s survived the winter as it’s coming back, rather than having to sort through dead stems. Not cutting back plants in fall also leaves nice forage and next-making goodies for birds, and gives some visual interest to a snow-covered yard!
- Plant any new perennials no later than mid-September. They should have a solid 6 weeks in the ground before the first frost. I comb the garden centers to see what’s left on clearance that I think might still have a chance at survival. If you get it in the ground now, and give it a little extra TLC (mulch it well for protection before the first frost), you just may have a budget-friendly blooming beauty come spring!
- Make a list of spots that may need fill-in in the spring. Be sure to note what kind of light and water exposure, as well as desired color, for that spot so you can start your spring shopping research early!
- Plant spring-blooming bulbs – tulips, daffodils, crocus, grape hyacinths, allium, iris, etc. I plant in bunches of 8-10 bulbs so I get strong pops of color. Click the link for my handy How-To!
- Plant fall-blooming plants like mums and asters. You can plant these in the ground, or pop them into pots. If planting in the ground, the key is to make sure your mums are “hardy mums”, which means they should be perennial. That way, you’ll save money by not having to re-plant year after year, and they’ll offer beautiful blooming color from mid-summer to hard frost.
- Trim and shape all shrubs, evergreens, and trees as necessary, except hydrangeas (spring trim). If you leave your hydrangea blooms alone, they’ll dry quite prettily. Be sure you know what kind of hydrangeas you have. Some require only “old wood” be trimmed. Old wood are stems that have been on the plant since the prior season. If you have a hard time remember what’s new and what’s old, simply tie a small piece of twine loosely at the bottom of current season stems as they appear.
- Cut back roses (shrub and tea roses) to 6” from the crown. Encircle crown with eggshells and banana peels (see my Breakfast for Roses post!). Then, place mulch around the crown only.
- I don’t use rose cones as I’ve found they create too much moisture over the winter, and can cause icing or mold. In the past, I’ve tried building a cage out of chicken wire then filling it with leaves. While it worked ok, it was a royal pain in the arse to clean up in spring! And, I found quite a few bugs on my plants because of the leaves.
- Remove all breakable garden art (i.e. glass, ceramic, light concrete) except bird feeders. Scrub off any dirt or mud, and store. I leave all my metal art in the garden through the winter so that I have some visual interest to the yard.
- Empty garden pots of all plants. I leave the dirt in the pots for next season, to save both time and money. Store the pots in a sheltered spot (garage, garden shed, under your deck, etc). The key to preventing the pots from breaking over winter is to not allow snow, water or ice to collect in them.
- Turn over all mulch to loosen it up. Simply pitchforking and shaking it back to ground is good. If you don’t loosen it up, snow, freezing, thawing and re-freezing sometimes turns it into a solid mass, which is not good for plants.
- Apply a generous layer of Preen over all garden beds. Its slow release will not only feed your plants one last time, but help stunt weeds come spring.
- Spray weeds in the cracks of the driveway, sidewalk and patio with 4% distilled white vinegar, undiluted.
- Fill in any low spots in the lawn with topsoil and plant grass seed. Fall’s cooler temps are actually perfect for growing grass. Just be sure you keep it watered to give it a good start. You might want to top it with some loose straw to keep seed from blowing in fall winds, and insulate the seedlings a bit.
- Stay on top of raking leaves, and try to keep leaves out of garden beds. While leaves make for great compost, they also create mold (which I’m allergic to), and again are a soggy pain the arse to clean up in spring. If you’re into composting, create a new compost pile with your leaves, or add to an existing compost pile. Leaves are considered “browns” in composting.
- In October, I begin to watch how much the grass is actually growing. For me, the ideal is to stop mowing when the grass is about 3” to 4” tall. This provides some insulation to the grass, and helps to keep early spring weeds at bay. At this point, I’m also mulching the leaves into the grass to provide winter compost.
- Once I’m done mowing, I apply the final step of a lawn weed and feed program.
Wow…time to grab a hot chocolate and take a rest! Yes, it’s a long list. Keep in mind these activities take place over the course of 2 to 2.5 months, maybe even three, into November, if we’re having a mild fall. It’s a good list, though, for ensuring your garden investment is not in vain.
You’ll note there’s nothing here about fruit/vegetable gardening. My yard has limited full sun and lots of hungry critters. About the only vegetable I can grow successfully is potatoes.
So, there you have it. My handy To Do list for winterizing the garden. Hope the list, along with my notes, are helpful and lead you to beautiful, hardy blooms come spring. Did I miss something on your list? Drop a comment below!
