How to Winterize Flowers & Bushes

Prepare your garden for winter's arrival.

Preparing your garden for winter will prepare it for the spring as well and create less work for you in the process. Not only does it encourage healthy growth in the spring, but it can keep pests at bay that harbor in the dead leaves throughout the cold season. Winter is also a good time to clean your garden tools to remove rust and mulch and store them dry until the spring. Does this Spark an idea?

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Instructions

- 1
  
  Remove all annuals, dead leaves, foliage and debris from your garden bed and cut back plants that will be returning in the spring. Throw out or burn any diseased debris.
- 2
  
  Wrap any flowers that are not winter hardy, such as roses, in burlap to protect them from freezing temperatures. Protect evergreens from severe winter weather by wrapping themin burlap since their roots freeze in winter and cannot absorb water. You can do this by placing stakes in the ground and wrapping the burlap around the stakes.
- 3
  
  Add a new layer of topsoil or compost to the soil and then a new 3-inch layer of mulch to perennials, shrubs and trees.
- 4
  
  Divide perennials to reduce shock to the plant and allow the fall rain to supply water to the newly divided plants.
- 5
  
  Spray evergreens with an antidessicant, which provides a protective layer on the evergreen to help prevent them from drying out. Antidessicants can be found at a local garden center.