Now that summer is over and winter relentlessly advances, it’s time to ready what plants you have left for the colder climate.  In this post, we provide some tips on how to prepare your plants for the winter.

Get Rid Of Diseased Plants

While it’s always beneficial to allow dying plants to rot naturally and prevent soil erosion, it’s important to get rid of any diseased plants that are still hanging around.  Inspect any leftover plants for funguses, insect eggs or other signs of disease.  Remove them before winter arrives to ensure they don’t affect future growing seasons.  

Do A Final Weeding

Make sure to get rid of invasive weeds before you hang up the gardening tools for the winter.  Leaving them can allow them to take over your yard during the winter and make your springtime prep work a headache.  Don’t make the mistake of throwing them in your compost pile either.  Burn them or remove them from the property entirely.

Prep The Lawn For Winter

Most people might not think of the lawn as “plants” per se, but the lawn often makes up the largest group of plants in any residential landscape.  Give it a final mow, remove any excess organic materials such as clippings or leaves, aerate the soil and add a fertilizer if it needs one.  A little pre-winter prep work can help ensure a lush green patch the following summer.

Top Up The Mulch

It’s always good to top up your mulch after the summer to help your trees and other plants weather the winter.  Mulch slows water evaporation, prevents weed growth and helps moderate soil temperature.  The winter conditions will also encourage the mulch to break down and provide nutrients to the soil.

Prune Your Trees

Trees benefit from pruning once they’ve gone dormant.  Pruning in cold weather does less damage while also encouraging fresh growth once the conditions warm up again.  It also ensures heavy snowfalls won’t cause branches to inadvertently break off.  Inspect your trees and think about taking down any diseased, damaged or dying branches.  Keep an eye open for tree limbs that may threaten buildings and power lines.