Hibernation of conifers: how to protect plants from frost

Not a single site can do without coniferous crops. They give a picturesque look to the territory in winter, when all deciduous trees are bare, and the flower beds are empty. There are so many varieties and types of conifers that you can create whole compositions, the decorativeness of which will be high in any season. But there is one caveat: not all coniferous crops are equally resistant to winters. If the seedlings were brought from Europe, where the climate is much milder than Russian and even Ukrainian, there is a possibility of severe damage to the crown and freezing of the roots. How to avoid this – let’s figure it out in more detail.

You can reduce the likelihood of winter troubles to zero already at the stage of buying seedlings. If you buy thuja, spruce, junipers in domestic nurseries, where they grew for several years in the same climatic conditions as in your area, then the problems with winter hardiness will disappear. Weak crops freeze out already in the first year after planting in the nursery, so they simply do not reach the shelves.

But more often we purchase planting material on the market, where it is impossible to check whether the seller gave the exact information about the growing conditions of the seedlings. And even if all the plants were grown in the local climate, there is no guarantee that they were not overfed with nitrogen fertilizers to accelerate growth. An excess of nitrogen significantly reduces the immunity of crops and leads to freezing.

How to grow a spruce, read here:

Therefore, the owners themselves must take care of the conifers, preparing them for hibernation at the end of autumn.

Dwarf pine

In small areas, different types of dwarf pine get along well, which stands out for its winter hardiness and ability to withstand snow loads

Among the crops that are damaged more than others in winter, the leading ones are tueviks, fir (except for Siberian and Vici), metasequoi, cypress and cypress trees. In areas with a harsh climate, it is better not to plant these crops or tune in to the fact that every winter they will have to be protected from frost.

The list of the most unpretentious conifers includes:

  • Ate (except for East and Brever);
  • Cedars;
  • Larch (except Western);
  • Pines (except Thunberg);
  • Junipers (except for Turkestan and Zeravshan);
  • Tsugi;
  • Western thuja.

The rest of the varieties need to be selected taking into account the length and severity of your winters.

An overview of the best varieties of ornamental shrubs for arranging a garden here:

Autumn recharge irrigation

Despite the subzero temperatures, life processes in coniferous crops do not stop, but only slow down their course. Therefore, trees and shrubs must be prepared for winter, taking this circumstance into account.

Before the onset of the first frosts (around the end of November), spend the last abundant watering of the conifers. Pour 2 buckets of water under each crop up to a meter, and 3 to 5 buckets above a meter. Thus, you will provide the plants with a supply of moisture for the pre-spring period. At the end of February, when the sun begins to bake, the crown of conifers comes to life and requires nutrition and moisture from the roots. And if it is not enough in the soil, then the frost fetters the earth to a great depth. The roots cannot take water, so the needles become dry and are easily burned by the scorching rays.

Watering is especially necessary:

  • one-year and two-year-old seedlings that have not developed a strong root system;
  • rare breeds of conifers with poor winter hardiness;
  • plants, the crown of which was formed and sheared this season.
Coniferous bonsai in winter

If there are conifers on the site, grown using the bonsai technique or with a topiary shearing, they need a solid shelter from the snow

Phosphate-potassium supplements

In order for the young branches of conifers to mature by the beginning of winter, you need to properly feed the plants. Already from August, exclude all fertilizers that contain nitrogen. It provokes a rapid growth of green mass, and this will greatly weaken the immune system. It is useful to add a mixture of potassium and phosphorus to the soil in September. Thus, you will speed up the lignification of the branches and strengthen the root system.

Mulching young plants

Mulching is a prerequisite for healthy wintering for rare and non-resistant coniferous varieties. The ideal mulch is tree bark. It is large, makes it possible for oxygen to flow to the roots and, when the temperature rises, does not prevent the release of excess vapors from the ground. With this kind of mulching, the plants will never dry out, as is the case with sawdust.

Adult conifers or those purchased from a local nursery do not need to be sprinkled with mulch. They will cope with the winter without shelter.

How to prepare your garden for the winter cold:

If you took into account the previous tips, it means that in winter your pets will feel quite comfortable, but the care does not end there. Winter weather brings many surprises, and you need to fight them in time.

Surprise one: heavy snow

Heavy snowfalls sometimes occur in winter. Wet snow with a heavy load settles on the conifers, causing fractures of skeletal branches and breaking off thin ones. If your pet is covered with a sticky and wet snow cap, do not try to shake it off by tilting branches or shaking the trunk. During this time, the bark and branches are so fragile that you will cause cracking. You need to wrap the end of the board with a soft cloth and pry each branch of an adult tree with it, gently swinging it up and down. Shake off all branches in the access zone of your growth with a stiff brush or broom, leading from the tips to the trunk.

The crown of spherical and columnar varieties can be saved by tying it with twine. Just do not pinch the branches so as not to disturb the circulation of the juices. The twine should firmly press the crown against the trunk, but not squeeze.

Twine tying the trunk

The crown tied with twine becomes compact and dense, not allowing snow to pass into the middle, which helps to survive the winter without breaking

Surprise two: freezing rain

With the contrast between day and night temperatures, tree branches can become covered with an ice crust. It has sufficient weight, tilting its legs and threatening the safety of the plant. You will not be able to shake off such beauty, since it firmly adheres to the needles. In this case, the props that you used in the summer to support the fruit trees will help out. Substitute them under any branches that are bent too low to keep them from breaking. It remains to wait for a sunny day for the ice to creep under the rays by itself.

Surprise three: gusty wind

In some areas, there is a squally wind in winter. It is not dangerous for stunted, dwarf trees or creeping shrubs, but vertical thujas, tall cedars or spruces can easily be uprooted (especially on light sandy loam soils).

If weather forecasters have announced a storm warning – play it safe by placing banners. They are of two types: with fixation to the stakes and anchor type.

The essence of the first option is that from four sides near the tree, thick stakes are driven into the ground, the height of which is more than half the height of the trunk. Twine is drawn from each support to the trunk. It is not tied on the bare bark, but previously wrapped around the trunk with roofing felt or placed in the place of tying a wooden block. True, it will not always be possible to drive the stakes into the frozen ground in winter, therefore, in this way, conifers are strengthened in the fall, especially recently transplanted large-sized ones.

Anchoring stretching

With the help of an anchor stretching, you can not only protect the tree from gusts of wind, but make it grow strictly vertically

The second type – anchor – provides for the installation of steel guy wires, which are attached to the tree at one end, and pulled onto the anchor at the other. The anchors should be located outside the root system. To protect the trunk from steel, you need to wrap the tree with thick burlap, and use wooden lining on top of it.

Surprise four: the February sun

Even the most persistent conifers run the risk of freezing or, conversely, getting burnt by the end of winter. At this time, the weather is unstable, and often during the days the sun shines so brightly that it provokes an early awakening of the roots. They begin to actively feed the crown, waiting for the imminent heat, and then the so-called return frosts may come. You cannot stop the flow of sap, but you can cover the crown with a thick non-woven material, like lutrasil, or at least put linen bags from under potatoes on young seedlings.

To prevent rapid thawing of the ground, cover it with sawdust. Their white color will reflect the sun’s rays and the roots will not awaken as quickly. But with the onset of stable heat, the sawdust must be removed immediately so that the plant does not spill out.

Conifers in winter

Without cover with lutrasil or other non-woven material, the crown of many rare conifers may not withstand the test of severe frosts

Another danger is concealed by the sun’s rays, which burn tender young needles. Therefore, at the end of winter, all annual seedlings and exotic conifers are covered with shields from the south, or the crown is completely wrapped in burlap.

It is undesirable to protect the conifers from the sun with a non-woven material, as it accumulates heat and can increase the drying out of the needles.

Shelter of coniferous trees

To protect from the February sun, you can use burlap or agrofibre, which creates a soft twilight inside the shelter and keeps the needles from drying out.

Don’t worry if some plants turn yellow needles in winter. This is how junipers and hemlock react to the cold. In the spring, the color will be restored.

If you carried out all the security measures on time, the conifers will quickly recover from hibernation and will delight you with their decorativeness.

Anna Evans

Author-editor

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