Climate anomalies and warm winters in Polandmake plants confused. Instead of going into winter dormancy, they vegetate at their best, with someblooming in fall or winterinstead of waiting until spring. We need to adapt the way we care for the garden to the changing climate. Seehow to help plants during a warm winterand what to do when unusual plant species bloom in winter.
Confused by warm winter, plants bloom prematurely. Then they are surprised by snow and frost.
Fig. depositphotos.com
Warm winters in Poland
We have been observing warm winters in Poland for several years. Plants are confused by these climatic anomalies.At the turn of autumn and winter, the buds swell or even the plantsbloom, which should wait until spring with this. December surprises with warm days, no snow at Christmas, and the lawn grows at its best. Also, birds that usually flew away for the winter remain in place.
About the impact of climate change on garden plantsI wrote earlier in the article on the frost resistance zone of plants. New maps of frost resistance zones developed in recent years show how the climate has warmed. Currently, in Poland, we can grow plants with less and less frost resistance.
Possibilityof growing plants that are more sensitive to low temperaturesis a certain advantage of global warming. But species typical of our country, as well as many fruit and vegetable crops, may suffer from it. This was the case during the winter of 2015/2016, when after warm December and January, large frosts came in February.Toughened up plants that felt the spring too early have suffered a lot from this. Farmers counted the losses in winter crops.
We should adapt the way of garden care to climate changes and surprisingly warm winters. winters in Poland.
1. Covering plants during warm winter
Standard recommendations say thatthe need to cover plants with lower frost resistance for the winter , including evergreen rhododendrons or garden perennials. Some gardeners have already covered their plants in late October or early November. Usually, covering plants for the winter is recommended when the plants feel the first frost, and you absolutely need to be in time before large frosts.
During warm winter, let's not overdo it with covering plants with nonwoven agrotextile
Fig. © PoradnikOgrodniczy.pl
The latter, however, are not coming andthe deadline for covering plants during warm autumn and winter is worth delaying , even until December or even January. This is important becauseplants that are covered too early do not go into winter dormancy, they overheat under covers and fungal diseases develop easilyThen the willingly used agrotextile does more harm than help.
Therefore,too early put on coats, it is worth taking offin warm weather or at least loosen them and reduce the number of covering layers. At the same time, we must observe the weather forecasts to put the covers back on before the onset of frosts.
In the face ofwarm winters, during which plants increasingly infuse under covers , it is worth considering whether instead of tightly covering the whole plants with non-woven fabric, not betteronly set up screens that protect plants from blows of cold, drying windsExamples of such screens can be viewed in the shop of our guide.
2. Watering plants during a warm winter
Becausedue to warm weather some plants do not go into winter dormancy and continue growing , they need water all the time. This is especially true of evergreen plants which, due to the cold, only slow down life processes, but the juices in their tissues circulate all the time. Additionally, their leaves are excessively dried by cold winds.
When winter is warm and snowless, remember to water the evergreen conifers
Fig. depositphotos.com
These plants suffer when they cannot replenish the water due to the ground freezing up or simply because the soil is too dry. Becausewarm winter without snow and rainfall means drought in the soilI found it out recently, using an electronic soil meter that allows me to measurein soil moisture. Dry here, dry there, and the plants wilt. Such a strange December 2019.
Thereforein periods when it is not raining and there are no frosts, it is worth watering garden plants , also in December or January. In this way, let's especially take care of evergreen rhododendrons, hard-leaved viburnum and moisture-loving conifers, including the popular thujas.
3. Should I mow my lawn in winter?
Grass growing in December or January may come as a surpriseHowever, it will not grow as fast as during the growing season, and mowing the lawn is not recommended. When mowing the lawn in winter, we will only encourage the grass to grow again and weaken its frost resistance.Therefore, if the autumn is really warm and the grass is still growing, the last lawn mowing before winter can be done in November at the latest. From December to February, let's give up mowing, but let's make sure that the lawn is clean, without any fallen leaves from trees and other residues on it, under which pathogenic fungi and molds quickly develop.When it finally snows, do not walk on the lawn and walk on it, because the grass that is frozen under the snow can easily be damaged.
4. Flowering of plants during warm winter
What to do ifplants bloom during a warm winter ? This problem mainly affects bulbs, especially species that typically bloom in early spring or early spring. Crocuses, daffodils and hyacinths can appear during warm winters in December or January.
Too early blooming hyacinths were covered with snow
Fig. depositphotos.com
Do not worry too much about it, becausethese plants are adapted to withstand frostsA few degrees below zero will not hurt them, because light frosts during their standard, spring flowering date are not rare.
We will have to act only when the weather forecasts announce greater frosts, i.e.prolonged temperature drops below -5 ° C. Such a situation after warm December and January may take place in February. Thenan additional layer of mulch , straw or a cover made of conifer twigs will be useful for flowering bulbs too early.
5. Bleaching of fruit tree trunks during warm winter
Painting the trunks of fruit trees in white is to prevent them from heating up during the day.The problem occurs most often in January and February, when the nights are frosty and during the day the sun heats the dark bark of trees. The bark painted white heats up less and the losses are lower.Nowadays many people say that
bleaching does not make sense if it is not very cold at nightI partially agree but I still recommend whitening the trees. As I mentioned before, whitening the trunks of fruit trees prevents the trunks from overheating during the day, and during a warm winter it will prevent hardening and premature vegetation of plants However, if there are frosts in February after a warm January, it will be less of a problem.
Remember that despite the warm winter, it is worth making mounds at the foot of newly planted trees, as well as installing orchard covers that prevent deer, hares and voles from biting the trees.
6. Feeding birds during a warm winter
Feeding birds in winter is necessary when it is very frosty and thick snow cover persists. Then the birds do not have access to food hidden under the snow, and in frost they need a lot of it, and it is highly caloric. It seems thatduring a warm winter you do not need to feed the birds , because there is no shortage of food in nature.
The matter is not that simple, because due to the global warming,birds that used to fly to warmer countries stay in Poland for the winterIn warm winters, they stay with us, e.g.robins and some blackbirds. For them, at least one very frosty night without access to food may turn out to be deadly.
Therefore,despite the warm and snowless winter, it is worth having food for birds preparedIf bird guests visit our garden, and the weather forecast announces the arrival of frost, let's sprinkle some seed for the birds.
7. Beware of the peach buds!
One of the first sprays to be done at the end of winter in theorchard is peach leaf curl. For spraying to be effective, it should be applied to the buds that are swollen, just before they burst. In order not to miss this moment, we recommended observing peach buds from the 3rd decade of February. The date of spraying was, depending on the weather and the pace of tree development, usually at the turn of February and March or in the first half of March.
Due to the increasingly warmer winters, peach buds may crack much earlier!This problem was discussed by Dr. Zbigniew Gruca in the monthly Działkowiec (January 2020, p.32). If there are periods of longer warming at the end of January or at the beginning of February, peach buds may break and it will be necessary to spray them.
We should therefore start observing peach buds at the end of January and buy the necessary preparations in advance. For spraying on frizz, we can use Miedzian 50 WP or Syllit 65 WP. If you are looking for a more natural alternative, you can use the ecological Lecitec preparation or Evasiol based horsetail extract.All the above mentioned sprays for peach leaf curl can be ordered in the shop of our guide. To go to the store, press the image below.
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8. Spraying trees and shrubs with oil preparations
If the winter is warm, the ecological spraying of trees and shrubs with oil preparations, performed at the end of winter, in early spring and early spring, becomes of particular importance.Well, severe frosts are conducive to the death of insects, including pests wintering on plants.If there is no frost, a large number of pests that threaten our plants will surviveThis requires action on our part.
Spraying trees and shrubs with oil preparations is performed from the end of February throughout MarchTheir goal is to eliminate eggs and other forms of pests wintering on plants. This allows you to destroy the pests before they wake up from hibernation and attack our plants. In this way, among others, winter eggs of the fruit spider mite and the larvae hatching from them, as well as the plum cup, aphids wintering on plants, and armpits on conifers.
On the conifers, the geothermal winter in the form of the so-called galls
Fig. Iwona & Wiki, forum.PoradnikOgrodniczy.pl
Oil spraying is performed when there are no bees and other useful insects in the gardens yet There is no such damage to nature as caused by sprinkling chemical insecticides in spring and summer. For these sprays, I recommend the natural oil preparation Emulpar 940 EC. It is based on rice oil, which, even at higher temperatures, does not cause phytotoxicity and can also be used later, when the leaves appear on the plants.
The latter distinguishes Emulpar 940 EC from the previously widely used Promanal 60 EC . Promanal contains paraffin oil, which can only be used in the leafless period. Too late spraying with paraffin oil can be dangerous for plants.
Therefore, I recommend Emulpar 940 EC due to the greater safety of spraying, but also due to the results of tests which confirmed thatEmulpar 940 EC prevents browning of conifers at the end of winterThis preparation is sprayed on fruit trees and shrubs, as well as ornamental shrubs and conifers in the early spring.
