How to Winterize Perennials

As the fall draws to a close, it is essential to winterize your perennials to help them survive the frost and snow of the season. You need to baby your perennials before the first frosts come through, and help your perennials harden before winter. Read on to learn how to let your garden go dormant for winter and be ready, healthy and fully renewed, come next spring.

Things You'll Need

• Compost
• Mulch
• Pruners
• Shovel
• Loppers
• Rake

Instructions

1. Reduce the amount of water you give to your flowerbed gradually, cutting it in half. The goal is to gradually lower the amount of moisture in the soil, to allow your perennials to harden naturally on their own. The plants will then be better able to adjust to colder, more difficult conditions.

2. Wait until the first frost has come and killed the foliage in your garden. Carefully dig up the less-hardy perennial bulbs such as dahlias and gladiolus, because they are too delicate to survive a cold climate in the ground. Store them in a cool, dry location.

3. Trim back the perennials that have finished blooming for the current season. The stems should be left only 6 to 8 inches from the base of the stems. You can compost the trimmed stems as long as they are not diseased.

4. Feed the perennials for the long winter ahead by working a 4 to 6-inch layer of compost into the beds around the plants. Compost can be purchased at your loca, garden center or at a plant nursery.

5. Dig up and remove any diseased plants. Do not place compost around a diseased plant, because the compost could get infected and spread the disease to the other plants in the bed.

6. Mulch the flower beds. Replace the old mulch with fresh straw, hay, or floating covers. These will help to keep the flowerbeds insulated and in much better condition regardless of the amount of snow that might fall.

7. Stop watering your perennials following the first frost and trimming of the perennials. Do not fertilize the perennials past midsummer, so as to enable them to slow their growth and harden enough in time for the coming winter.

Tips & Warnings

• If you live in a location where the ground does not freeze in the winter or get much snow, choose a sunny, warm day to water your perennials. Keep watering them at least once a month so as to keep them healthy and alive.