How Do You Get Your Plants Ready For Winter Without A Greenhouse? Here’s What I Like To Do!
Purchasing items through the links provided in my blog is a way to help me earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thanks for your interest and support!
Introduction
Before you know it you will have an upcoming frost day! If you live in a state like Texas, then the weather might just skip those frosty mornings and go straight to a freeze. The weather is just very unpredictable sometimes and we have to be ready to shelter and protect our plants if needed!
Bring Plants Indoors
Some of us love to over-buy plants! I’m one of them! When temperatures suddenly start to drop, I start wondering where in the world am I going to put my plants especially the more cold sensitive ones? Plants that just can’t take the colder weather go inside my house. I like to clean them up before hand and make sure they don’t bring critters inside.
Some benefits to sheltering your plants indoors during the winter is that they provide you with oxygen by cleaning the air inside your home. They also release moisture in the air which aids in reducing the static electricity that likes to stick around during the winter when the heater is constantly being used.
Many of us keep our plants indoors all year round but when you have limited space, they get a spot on the front porch or back patio. Pick and choose the plants that are more cold sensitive than others and shelter them inside your home this winter.
Use A Garage Or Shed As Shelter
The next best way to shelter your plants is to roll them inside your garage or shed. I have citrus avocado trees, and large aloe veras that have large pots and of coarse there is no way those will fit in my house. Those beauties get a spot in my garage or the shed.
I do have to monitor the temperatures in the garage and shed sometimes if there are multiple freeze days.I like to use wireless temperature monitors that hook up to my phone. In any given case where the temperature is colder than expected then I add frost blankets to my plants in the garage as well to keep them extra cozy.
Mulch Heavily
Not all our plants are potted, right? So what can we do to help our outdoor perennials survive and keep coming back every year? Unfortunately sometimes they die and we wonder why we didn’t do enough to prepare them for winter. We have to remember to keep their roots alive! Perennials foliage will die and most times with some exceptions that is normal but we need to keep the root ball safe so it can grow back next spring.
Mulching heavily is a way to keep the roots safe. Yes sometimes mulch can add up on price but if your plants die then you might as well say you lost money as well when you have to replace dead plants. It’s best if you prevent that from happening in the beginning.
If you have a large amount of outdoor plants, trees, and bushes then you might want to take in consideration ordering free wood chips from a company called Chip Drop. Chip Drop provides you with free wood chips but with one exception, you don’t get to choose how many wood chips you want. They will drop off a large truck load at a more convenient location to them, which would most possibly be your drive way so you should plan for that in advance.
Use Frost Blankets For Plants
Don’t we like to cozy up with our favorite blanket during the winter? Our plants will most definitely appreciate a cozy frost blanket to keep them safe from the extra chilly temperatures. You can buy hoop kits to make a little hoop house over your plants. You can make a diy hoop house from 1/2 inch PVC and buy 1/2 PVC snaps to secure frost blankets in place over your plants. If you don’t have time to put together a hoop house of any type, just put your frost blanket over your plants and use bricks, large rocks, anything that can hold down your frost blankets and keep them from flying away into your neighbor’s yard.
Frost blankets can be reusable so after every winter season is over, make sure you store them. Sometimes it’s best to invest in the thicker quality because out of experience, the thinner frost blankets that are less expensive can be easily torn my accident. The thicker quality will not only keep your plants more cozy, they can be hold up better to any tugging from strong winds. All in all, something is better than nothing so please, protect your plants from the winter this coming season!
Pop Open Some Greenhouses
I have to say pop up greenhouses having many benefits to using them. They are easy to use, you just pop them open and place them over the plants you want to protect. You can either stake them down depending on the type you buy. Some kits include stakes to hold the green house in place or use bricks on the flaps like I do to ensure they don’t fly away. I really love that they have zippers so you can easily access your plant when needed. The zippers and ties make it easy to open your plants up to sunny days so they get a chance to intake some warmth and light from the sun, and breath in some carbon dioxide.
One thing that still must be done for a full protection, is to mulch your plants. The pop up green house helps with frost and keeping the plants warm but it will not keep your plant’s rootball from freezing if you don’t add mulch. This is where the leaves from our trees come in handy. As you pick up your fall leaves, save them for mulching your plants under your mini greenhouse.
DIY PVC Greenhouse For Raised Beds, Small Trees and Bushes
Raised beds can sometimes have vegetables that are not yet harvested! We can definitely extend our harvest window if we provide some shelter for them. By using a couple of PVC pipes, snaps, rebar, and bricks we can easily create a sturdy winter hoop house for our harvesting vegetables.
If you have young trees, it’s important for you to protect them during the winter! We may think that because we added trees native to our growing zone, they can handle the cold weather. The truth is, at a young age, trees can possibly die and not come back in the spring. I learned the hard way when my fig trees never re-bloomed last spring and trust me, I gave them plenty of time before I made that verdict.
Its better safe then sorry to protect your young trees by building a hoop house with PVC around them. Using frost blankets, wrap the trees during the really cold temperatures. Use PVC snaps that fit to secure the frost blankets and a couple of bricks to secure the bottom. Don’t your plants look cozy, now?
Use Plastic!
So you ran out of frost blankets? The temperatures are getting lower and you still have that heavy ceramic pot on your front porch that just didn’t make it in the garage. Depending on the diameter of that pot, you may be able to use a simple plastic bag over that plant. I always end up having to do that myself. I do prefer to use the bigger commercial size bags for large pots but any bag that fits over and around your pot will work. Once, I even used a mattress bag for a larger tree. That was probably before I got an upgraded dolly. Clear bags would probably be a better choice but don’t be afraid to just use what you have on hand.
Do remember that you still need to give your plants air so when the temperatures go back up make sure you remove the plastic for a bit. This method is more like an emergency method to an over night frost or freeze, If the weather forecast calls for multiple freeze days, you may have to purchase a proper frost blanket. That way, you can put on the frost blanket and not worry that your plant isn’t able to breathe. Not a money saver, but a time saver for sure.
Added Winter Tips
- Preparation Is Crucial
- Keep Potted Plants Away From Cold Wind
- Easily Transport Plants With A Dolly
- Monitor The Temperature With Wireless Thermometers
- Wrap Your Plants In Incandescent Outdoor Lights
Preparation Is Crucial
Preparation is key to success! In many aspects in life, without preparation we run into some sort of trouble or problems. Preparing in advance helps us prevent these problems from happening in the first place.
Same thing in the garden world! Preparing our heart and mind is probably the most important! If we don’t love our work as a gardener, then planning ahead will be a hassle. Getting out in the cold to cover our plants from the winter cold will be even harder. It’s important to love the results of our hard work and let that motivate us to aid our plants during the winter season.
To aid our plants during the winter, we could use some help ourselves. The proper tools make a huge difference. Don’t forget to prepare the proper tools needed to protect your plants before the storm hits. You don’t want to be left plant-less! Take action and do your research now! Find the best prices within your budget for much needed winter plant protecting items. If there is only one thing you want to invest in for winter protection, I recommend thick frost blankets.
Preparation, isn’t to be taken lightly and it’s definitely sometimes not easy. It’s true, we all lack time, money, and energy but if we start early we may be able to find ways to save time, save money, and even make the best use of our energy.
Keep Potted Plants Away From Cold Wind
Don’t under estimate the power of the wind! I think we all know the feeling of winter windy weather. Wind chills can drop weather temperatures drastically from one hour to the next. This kind of weather can literally damage your skin if you don’t wear the proper clothing to protect yourself.
So, how can the power of the wind effect your plants? Greatly! For starters, their foliage takes a hit and may be lost. Branches get brittle and die off. One way to help keep your plants out of the wind is to place them in a corner or wall against your home or another structure that will block the wind. Doing so, makes a big difference on the way your plant will bounce back next year.
Easily Transport Plants With A Dolly
Having the right tools will always make any job easier! That said, a dolly is one of those back-saving, time-saving, and no help needed kind of tool! I actually have a small and a large dolly. The small one is more compact and stays in the car garage for easy access. The larger one is stored in the shed so I only drag it out when it’s time for a heavier job.
My husband used to be my dolly until he retired, mostly just got tired! It was merely my fault, I kept buying more plants! LOL 😂
Monitor The Temperature With Wireless Thermometers
I started using these wireless thermometers last winter when I decided to experiment and plant a bearrs lime tree in the ground here in north Texas. These thermometers helped me keep a track on the temperatures inside the plants while they were covered during the coldest nights. Sometimes technology just knows how to give you peace of mind.
The only downside to these thermometers was that I could only check the temperatures while at home. There is a limit to how far they will connect with your phone so sometimes I had to be patient while it was loading. Other than that, you can have multiple temperature readers in different locations, make adjustments to your protection methods if needed and worry less.
Wrap Your Plants In Incandescent Outdoor Lights
Honestly, I have never tired this method before. I only have one tree in the ground that I would possibly wrap in incandescent outdoor lights to keep warm. Last winter was the first winter my bearss lime tree was in the ground here in north Texas (growing zone 8b). He suffered a lot of damage and died down all the way to ground level but grew back as a 3 foot bush during the following growing season.
My plan this winter is to wrap my lime bush in incandescent outdoor lights to see if I can save him from losing all his foliage during the coldest days of winter. If most of his foliage survives, then most of the plant energy can be used to produce fruit the following spring instead of using all that energy in a complete re-growth. It’s a method that has worked for other gardeners so I have hope that it will work for my lime tree as well.
Conclusion
That’s a wrap! Winter is just around the corner and it’s time to get ahead and prepare our plants for the cold weather. Some do naturally protect themselves by going dormant but you can do more to guarantee their survival. The benefits of your hard work will show next spring when your plants re-bloom!