Whether they’re pot-plants, flowerbed roses or evergreens, you can protect your favourite plants from the harsh winter conditions by following these simple instructions.
Mother Nature herself goes a long way to ensure outdoor plants are at least partially protected during the big freeze, with leaves, pine-needles and even fallen snow providing a cosy, insulating blanket. Although many plants will survive the cold without suffering, pot-plants are particularly susceptible to frost, as the root ball freezes far more easily than it does with flowerbed and border plants.
A healthy way for freeze-resistant pot-plants to survive winter
Evergreens, bushes and other hardy plants can spend the winter outdoors in frost-resistant pots, but they must be protected from the sun and wind in order to ensure they don’t dry out.
- Use a woven-straw parasol and a thick layer of mulch comprising leaves, coniferous branches or fir wood.
- Put the pots on logs, clay supports or pieces of polystyrene to create an insulating cushion of air between the plants and the cold ground.
- Place the pots close together and they’ll keep each other warm and sheltered.
- Bamboo and similar exotic plants lose a lot of moisture when the winter weather’s dry and sunny for long periods, so, as long as the earth within the pot isn’t frozen, they’ll need regular watering.
