Status: 24.10.2023, 19:02 PM
By: Ines Alms
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Moving potted plants to their winter quarters, protecting plants in the bed from frost or lawn care: Here you can find out which tasks in the garden you should do and when.
Preparing your garden for winter is crucial to having a healthy and flowering plant in spring. If you don't winterize your garden, frost and cold can damage or even kill your plants. Plus, you'll have more work to do in the spring to repair damage and get the garden back in shape. This also applies to repair work and tool and garden furniture maintenance.
Nine measures to protect the garden from winter
Before the first frost comes, you should pile up sensitive plants such as roses and protect them from the cold with brushwood and leaves. © Panthermedia/Imago
From mid-October, before the first frost, you should start preparing for winter. The following work is pending:
- Leaf removal: Regular removal of foliage is the first step of autumn-winter care. Piles of leaves can suffocate grass and promote fungal and moss growth as well as diseases. However, you can leave a few piles as shelter for hedgehogs and other animals. Also, don't forget to clear the gutter of leaves.
- Lawn Care: You should mow the lawn one last time until mid-October, with mild temperatures November is also sufficient. Also remove weeds and moss.
- Final prunings: Some perennials, hedges and, for example, woody plants such as fruit trees can still tolerate pruning before winter. Prune your perennials only when necessary. Feel free to leave some to provide food and hiding places for insects and birds.
- Removing Fruit Mummies: Leftover fruit mummies of apples, pears, etc. that are still hanging from the branch should be removed at all costs, as they can spread diseases.
- Mulching: A layer of mulch about ten centimetres thick – made of brushwood and leaves, for example – protects the roots of your plants from frost and helps retain moisture. Cover beds and delicate plants all around.
- Plant protection: Before the first frosty nights, you should cover sensitive plants such as roses, strawberries, hydrangeas and small trees from frost damage with fleece, jute or special protective covers – even large container plants. Attention, even hardy plants planted only this year can freeze to death in very cold weather. Ornamental grasses are best tied together.
- Potted plants in the winter quarters: Above all, smaller, sensitive and tropical plants in pots should be moved directly indoors to a frost-free but cool place from zero degrees outside. Check the plants for pests in advance.
- Faucets and irrigation systems protect: Before the first frosty nights, it makes sense to turn off the water supply for taps and, like other irrigation systems, empty them beforehand if necessary, so that they are not blown up at sub-zero temperatures.
- Winterizing garden furniture: Garden furniture should be cleaned and stored in a dry place or protected with covers – damp weather will otherwise attract green deposits. Garden tools should be cleaned well and, if necessary, oiled. Remove soil residues from plant pots, clean with soapy water and remove any remaining limescale with vinegar.
You can find even more exciting gardening topics in the regular newsletter of our partner 24garten.de.
This article was created with the help of machine support and carefully reviewed by editor Ines Alms before publication.