Winterize Your Albuquerque Garden—Here’s How Part Two

Homeowners who are well prepared winterize their homes every fall. Just like boats and cars, your home needs to get ready for the coldest season, gardens included!

If this is news to you, let me explain all the benefits of doing so. Not only does it help ensure your existing plants will survive the short, harsh days and bitter nights of winter, but it encourages new growth the following spring. Gardeners who live in regions that get frost need to be aware of the proper way to winterize their garden.

• Spread mulch.

This is very important to protect some of the less mature root systems of your newer perennials. The best time to add that extra blanket of protection is when the ground has started to freeze. This will keep the ground underneath consistently cold or frozen until spring, which you want. Freeze and thaw cycles in the soil may encourage the soil to reject new plants and uproot them. Around January or February, it’s a good idea to check on the mulch and see if winter winds have thinned it out and add more where needed.

• Hydrate evergreens.

If the fall season has been lacking in moisture, giving evergreens a good deep soak before winter gets here can be very helpful. Broadleaf evergreens, like boxwoods and hollies, and conifers, such as yews, may get winter burn due to the fact that year round, they release moisture through their leaves. Broadleaf types facing south/southwest are exposed to afternoon sun should be given extra attention and water (as needed).

• Protect bark on young trees.

Fruit trees, and other newly planted trees, have thin bark. This correlates with potential cracks and sun scald due to fluctuating temperatures from day to night. The good news is, plastic spiral protectors and tree wrap tape are easy solutions to this problem.

• Create wind breaks.

Wind burn is also a possible threat to exposed evergreens. Before the ground freezes, you should put three stakes in the ground in a “V” formation on the windy side of your plants that need protection. The tip of your “V” should be facing the wind. Next, wrap them with fabrics like burlap or landscaping fabric. This will offer a safeguard from the wind without the need to wrap the entire plant, so you can still enjoy your evergreens year-round as intended.

• Saving the shrubs.

Vulnerable shrubs should be protected when prolonged or especially harsh freezes are predicted. You can use the same materials that were recommended for creating windbreaks, however this is not a full season treatment. The fabric should be removed from the plants when the temperature rises to avoid overheating the plant. Plastic is not an alternative as it does not breathe and has the ability to execute the shrub by means of overheating. Building teepees in the fall to cover with cloth when the time is right is a quick fix way to protect plants located under eaves from cascades of snow from the roofs as it dislodges and melts.

• Water features.

It is very important to make sure your water pump doesn’t freeze. If you are unsure of your equipment, you may want to check with local maintenance professionals to see if your pump is capable of moving water all winter. If not, it is a good idea to remove the pump and plants to be stored before they freeze if you want them to live through to next season.

•   Fresh veggies.

Gardens in some regions can produce certain crops through freezes and snow. Those crops include beets and leafy greens like spinach and lettuce. Their integrity can be preserved by building a cold frame with agricultural cloth and basic wire hoops.

It’s not too late to take action to winterize your garden today. Call the team at R & S Landscaping at 505-271-8419 to make an appointment to get your garden set up for spring 2020.