As colder weather draws in, you’ll want to ensure your tender plants stay snug and healthy. Pull on a woolly hat and crank up the heating: here are our top tips for preparing plants for winter and keeping indoor and outdoor species in perfect condition until spring.
Understanding overwintering
What is overwintering? As autumn draws in, some plants need protection from cold weather. This generally applies to tender plants (those that won’t survive frost). Often, these plants come from warmer climates and can’t withstand UK winters.
Overwintering is important because frost, snow and fluctuating winter temperatures can affect garden plants in several ways:
- They can damage plant cells
- They make it harder for plants to absorb nutrients and water
- They weaken plants’ immune systems and increase their susceptibility to pests and diseases.
Preparing outdoor plants for winter
Many garden plants will survive the British winter without any extra help, but some species will benefit from a little TLC in autumn to guard against extreme weather. Our overwintering plants guide will talk you through the basics.
Which plants need overwintering?
Tender herbaceous perennials such as dahlias, cannas, gladioli and pelargoniums (often called geraniums) will need protection over winter. Less hardy plants like tree ferns, banana plants and some fuchsia species will also benefit from winter plant care, as will most plants grown in pots and containers.
How to prepare plants ahead of winter
How do you go about protecting plants in winter? There are various ways to ensure tender plants stay snug during the colder months:
- Moving
- Cutting back
- Lifting and storing
- Mulching
- Covering and wrapping.
Moving
Some potted plants will do best indoors or in a warm, sheltered place like a conservatory or a heated or insulated greenhouse. If you are leaving pots outdoors, move them to a sheltered position and raise them on pot feet or bricks to help the water drain and prevent frost damage.
Cutting back
In mild areas or sheltered spots, the base of tender plants can be covered with a thick mulch to insulate the roots. While you can cut plants back before doing this, leaving some dry stems and seed heads will benefit wildlife over winter, offering food and shelter for birds and insects.
Lifting and storing
The tubers, rhizomes and corms of some tender herbaceous per