Most of the coniferous trees and shrubs seem frost-resistant enough to avoid the winter chills. However, in spring you can often see browned shoots, deformed twigs and whole plants dying not only in gardens but also on balconies and terraces. See in which casesprotection of conifers against frost and snowand the best wayto protect conifers for winternot only in the garden but also on the balcony and on the terrace.
How to protect conifers for the winter - the thuja momentum bent under the weight of snow,
the residual snow must be shaken off the plant
How to protect conifers against snow
One of the most frequently observedproblems on conifers during the winteris a thick layer of snow lying on their shoots and causing twigs deformation, and in extreme cases even their breaking. This problem concerns mainly columnar variety, but also more and more often planted thuja (thuja) with a spherical shape. They have quite slender twigs and heavy snow can easily cross such shoots to the sides, creating a hole inside the plant.
Therefore, in orderto protect conifers from snow , after each heavy rainfall, it is worth inspecting the conifers in the garden and using a broom to shake off excess snow from them. It is worth doing it regularly to shake off fresh, fluffy snow. If this is not done, snow that melts on a sunny day and freezes again at night may clump together, increase its weight and become much more difficult to remove.If it stays on the shoots of conifers for too long, their twigs may never regain their original shape or even break.
Columnar and conicalforms of conifers, sensitive to bending shoots under the weight of snowLawson's cypresses 'Columnaris' and 'Alumigold', very popular thujas 'Smaragd', but also 'Sunkist' and 'Yellow Ribbon', or columnar juniper and yew varieties, are recommended to be tied with string before winter. However, do not tie them too tightly, as this may expose the plant to frost.
How to protect conifers from frost
In spring you can see the brownish shoots of many conifers. It is worth knowing that some varieties, such as Brabant thuja, may naturally lose their green color during the winter. It is a natural phenomenon for them, and in spring the plants quickly regain their lush green color.
How to protect conifers for the winter - snow lying inside the bush
has spread the branches, it should be removed as soon as possible
But what to do when you can clearly see that the plants are drying out? Usually in such a situation, the first reason that comes to mind isconifers freezing in wintercaused by low temperatures. Meanwhile, the real cause may be quite different. Evergreen conifers all year round, also in winter, undergo a transpiration process (evaporation of water through the above-ground parts of the needles). In addition, they are subjected to the drying effect of the frost wind, while being unable to replenish the water shortage from the frozen soil. As a result, the conifers simply dry up in winter. To prevent this from happening, the plants should be watered abundantly in the fall, before the soil freezes, and also in winter, during periods of thaw, if the soil seems to be dry.
Real frosts may occur only in the least frost-resistant species, e.g. varieties of Lawson cypress, some junipers, thuja and thuja.In orderto protect these conifers from frost , we must first of all take care of a warm, sheltered from frosty winds. If we cannot provide them with windbreaks, the plants can be covered with jute, garnish or wrapped in agrotextile. In the latter case, remember that it must be a winter white agrotextile. You can also put on winter protective hoods made of agrotextile on small shrubs.
However, we should install any covers only after the first frosts, when we are sure that the plants have finished their growth and hardened a bit. Thereforethe date of installing winter covers for conifersdepends on the course of the weather and is usually not done earlier than at the end of November. If we put the covers on too early, the plants, under the influence of heat, may start to re-grow and develop new shoots just before the winter itself, which will be very harmful to them.
How to protect conifers for the winter - pots wrapped in agrotextile,
polystyrene underneath
How to secure conifers on the balcony
Conifers on the balcony need to be protected in a special way growing in pots. In their case, we must first of all think aboutprotecting the conifer root from freezingFor this purpose, a rectangular pot can be covered with approx. 3 cm thick polystyrene and tied with a string so that the polystyrene sticks. Round pots can be placed in a larger cardboard box, and the free spaces between the pot and the cardboard box can be filled with crumpled newspapers or crushed polystyrene. Cover the ground under the plant with a thick layer of pine bark or spruce branches. The pots can also be covered with straw or thickly tied with agrotextile. We should also remember that the conifers on the balcony, grown in a small pot, can easily wither, so we should water them in autumn and winter during periods of thaw.
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