As colder weather increases and the frosts start to bite, a little forethought and protection planning can help plants survive. Take a few simple precautions to prevent potentially severe damage and to increase your chances of growing a wider range of tender plants
Protection through cultivation
Applying high-phosphate fertilisers in midsummer can prevent frost damage by toughening up plants. Avoid applications of nitrogen-rich fertilisers late in the season, as they stimulate sappy growth.
Soil exposure, particularly in the vegetable patch, can result in leaching of nutrients. Green manure such as mustard (left), sown in September, reduces this. Juvenile plants will retain nutrients until dug back into the soil in spring.
Mulching can reduce compaction and soil erosion that can commonly follow heavy rain.
Positioning plants
Site early-flowering plants such as magnolias and camellias (right) to avoid the morning sun, as rapid thawing of frozen buds can result in blackening and bud drop. Avoid planting in frost pockets and wet spots.
Planting windbreaks
A cold and windy site will often require windbreaks of additional planting or the strategic placing of temporary woven hurdles, netting or similar materials.
Snow
If snow sits on hedges or the crowns of trees there is a danger of branches breaking. Shake off excess snow as it starts to build up on branches, and prune hedges to taper at the top to minimise snow damage.
Containers
Prevent roots freezing in containers by wrapping with bubble polythene (left) or straw, or plunge the pot into the ground. Evergreens still require water in winter, so ensure pots do not dry out. However, waterlogging can kill plants, so make sure that drainage is unimpeded by lifting pots directly off the ground.
Climate change
Milder winters are not necessarily good news for gardeners as they prevent the protective deep dormancy common in many trees and shrubs. This increases their susceptibility to frost and scorch caused by cold winds or sudden cold snaps. However, the mild winters experienced in recent years have led to better survival of more tender plants, increasing the range of species available to gardeners.
Fiona Dennis