How to Prepare Gardens for Winter

Cool weather brings falling leaves and the end of the growing season for annuals and perennials. Many of the plants, trees and shrubs in your landscape are entering the dormant season. Preparing your garden for winter helps protect plants during the coldest months of the year. This process also helps prevent the diseases and pests from damaging tender plantings. Let's look at how to put your garden to sleep for the winter.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Box
• Peat moss
• Rake
• Shovel
• Yard waste bags
• Pruning clippers
• Pruning loppers

1. Dig up dying annuals from all garden beds. Dispose of these plants in your compost pile or in yard waste bags for recycling.

2. Get a jump-start on next year's weed removal by digging up and pulling any visible weeds from the garden area. Dispose of weeds in yard waste bags. Don't put any weeds on your compost pile or you'll spread the germinating weeds when using the compost.

3. Rake and remove all fallen leaves from the garden surface to prevent rodents and other garden pests from nesting around tender plantings. Leaves function as great compost when chopped up and placed on a compost pile to decompose.

4. Dig up gladiolus, dahlias and canna lily bulbs. All the bulbs to dry completely for 2 to 3 days and store in peat moss filled boxes in a cool, dry area such as a garage or basement.

5. Remove obviously dead foliage from perennial plantings using pruning clippers and loppers (for 3/4-inch or larger branches). Many plants function as food sources for birds during the colder months of the year. If you don't care for the dead look to your garden during the winter months, cut back perennials 6 to 8 inches from the soil surface. In most cases, leaving perennials alone is the best choice.

6. Prune diseased, dying or dead sections from shrubs. These cuts should be made at a 45-degree angle to limit the branch wound size. Trim back to the point where a limb joins another branch or at the nearest bud. Do not perform excessive pruning during the fall since shrubs don't respond well to trimming before going dormant.

7. Mulch tender perennials with a 3 to 4 inch layer of mulch. Loosely apply the layer of mulch over the cut-back plant to keep soil temperatures even. This mulch layer will protect perennial roots from freezing and shifting during the winter.

8. Do not mound mulch around the base of trees or shrubs. Piles of mulch invite all manner of rodents who will make a nice, warm nest in the mulch with plenty of nearby snacks in the form the tree and roots.

9. Water gardens once if week if there is no rainfall until the first frost. Plants need plenty of moisture during the cooler season to prepare for winter dormancy.

10. Rinse off, sharpen and store all garden implements for the winter to remove dirt, possible fungus and pests.