Moss for shelter for the winter. How to cover heat-loving plants for the winter

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Winter is a difficult test for our plants. For trees and this is much more dangerous than for herbaceous plants, since their buds are high above the ground, are not protected by snow cover and are exposed to winds and frost.

To avoid disappointment in the spring, you need to select an assortment that will withstand our winter well. Quality also plays a significant role. planting material. Plants must have well developed root system, not damaged during digging and transportation.

At the end of autumn it is necessary to help the plants go into dormancy. From the second half of summer, young shoots stop growing in length and begin to become covered with bark, which protects the branches in winter. Branches on which bark has not formed will not survive until spring.

By the end of July, trees and shrubs are no longer given nitrogen, which stimulates plant growth. To prepare for winter, plants need potassium and phosphorus (fertilizer doses should be read on the packaging).

It is also necessary to cover plants that were planted this year and those that must undergo acclimatization. After this, the plants adapt and will no longer need shelter. Some, especially delicate plants, such as rhododendrons, are covered every year. This, of course, adds trouble to the garden, but the flowering of these plants is so bright, unusual and elegant that all the labor and time spent is paid off by the joy that we receive from contemplating this flowering. In order to survive the winter well, they must be watered abundantly until the first frost. It is better to cover evergreen plants with spruce branches in the first two to three years. And undersized ones - cover them dry oak leaves. Deciduous rhododendrons (azaleas) are covered using a different technology. The branches need to be bent to the ground and lightly sprinkled with soil. In winter they will be covered with snow, and they will not freeze.

Sheltering begins when the air temperature drops to -5 C at night. You should not do this earlier, since the plants need to get a little hardening and get used to low temperatures. They are not afraid of night frosts and light frosts. The main one is spruce or pine spruce branches. It helps accumulate snow, which protects the plant from severe frost.

But mice like to live in such cozy huts in winter. They eat the bark of trees and shrubs, and this can lead to the death of the plant. Mice especially love fruit trees. You will have to place the poison under cover. Most convenient way- These are wheat grains treated with poison. They can be purchased at hardware stores and garden centers.

The shelter should under no circumstances damage or break plant branches. Therefore, spreading bushes will first need to be carefully tied with rope, then wrapped in burlap and only then covered with spruce branches in three layers. Fragile plants cannot be tied up; special frames must be made for them, which are covered with burlap and covered with spruce branches. For rhododendron bushes these can be cubes, and for young Christmas trees - pyramids with three or four sides.

Snowless, frosty winters pose a significant danger, when even good shelter cannot save plants from damage. It’s not scary if the frost lasts 1-2 days, it’s bad if it lasts for a long time. Therefore, it is better to place those plants that need shelter in places protected from the wind, where more snow accumulates.

The spruce branches should be positioned in such a way that the upper side of the branches, where the needles are thicker, faces upward, which means that snow will accumulate better. The spruce branches are also secured with a rope.

The branches and buds are adapted to withstand severe frosts, which cannot be said about the roots. They suffer greatly in snowless winters, so we must try to accumulate snow in the circles around the tree trunks. The same spruce or pine spruce branches can help with this.

In the spring, when the temperature reaches 0-5 C and the snow begins to melt, the shelter is removed. This usually happens in the second half of March. Do not open the plants right away, it is better to do it gradually: first remove the spruce branches, and after a few days the burlap.

For winter shelter plants, you can also use agrotextiles or agrofibre. Agrofibre comes in different densities: 17, 23, 30, 40, 50, 60 mm per kW m. What higher density agrofibre, the more it protects against temperature changes. The features of agrofibre are that it promotes air circulation inside and outside, reflects UV light, transmits heat inside, thereby creating a microclimate inside the covered plants. Low-density agrofibre can be used in the spring to protect crops, plantings, and plants from spring frosts.

Plants are also in danger when winter ends and the sun becomes brighter. First of all, this concerns conifers, which suffer from sunburn. Bright light is amplified by reflection from the snow and damages the needles. You can protect plants from the sun using burlap, in which you simply wrap the crown. You can remove this cover when all the snow has melted. After a few years, the plants will adapt and there will be no need to hide them.

We can’t help but talk about how the lawn overwinters, because these are also plants. Lawn grass You also can’t feed them with nitrogen fertilizers starting in August. From now on, you can only give potassium and phosphorus, elements that help plants prepare for winter. You should not mow the lawn before the onset of winter; let the grass 8-10 cm long go under the snow. The same as for woody plants, for lawn best protection from frost - this is a soft blanket of snow. In rare cases, when there are strong thaws and the snow melts, an ice crust may form on the surface of the lawn, which must be broken, because it does not allow the grass to breathe. And of course, it is not permissible to set up an ice skating rink on the lawn.

An incorrectly chosen protective “cocoon” for plants, and most importantly, its incorrect use, leads to freezing of the root system, death of plantings and lack of harvest. Unfortunately, not everyone thinks about how to properly cover plants for the winter.

Climate in last years is becoming more and more unpredictable. Some country crops middle zone They need reliable shelter and cannot always survive the winter safely. However, often, in an effort to unnecessarily protect plants, summer residents make mistakes and actively support myths associated with the insulation of garden and vegetable plants. Today we will talk about the most common myths and try to debunk them.

Myth 1. Absolutely all plants on the site need shelter.

Any plant has the ability to adapt to conditions environment and climate. If you don't grow at all exotic plants, “guests from southern countries”, then in most cases you don’t have to worry - other perennials will survive winter frosts and lower temperatures. Most plants zoned, i.e. “hardened off” and prepared to grow in the area in which you are growing them. Mostly tender ones need shelter perennials, which primarily include:

• roses (almost all types, with the exception of park roses);
• clematis;
• chrysanthemums;
• lilies;
• garden peonies;
• rhododendrons;
• lavender;
• grape;
• young thujas up to 5 years old.

Choose late and winter-hardy varieties for planting - this way the plants are more likely not to freeze

Myth 2. Covering a plant is a guarantee of its successful wintering

One of the most dramatic pictures that greets summer residents who come to the site in the spring is plants that did not survive the winter. Moreover, to the surprise of many plot owners, it turns out that both protected and unprotected plants were damaged. The fact is that the main enemy country crops– this is not extreme cold, but temperature changes. Such changes are especially often observed in the autumn-spring period, when frosts give way to thaws. At this time, moisture accumulates in the soil and freezes. As a result, the root system withers away, rots, freezes, becomes covered with cracks and opens the way for pathogenic microbes. Therefore, all measures to prepare plants for winter are not limited to creating a shelter; plantings need to be prepared for winter in a comprehensive manner. You need to start with a choice right place for landing taking into account the level of occurrence groundwater, lighting and wind roses. You should also properly water, feed and prune the plants regularly.

The lower the shelter is located, the warmer it is, since in winter only the earth heats the plants

Myth 3. It is enough to cover low-growing plants with soil

Low-growing crops or shoots remaining after pruning only need a small earthen mound. This is what most summer residents think, but this is only half the truth about sheltering low crops for the winter. The “earth mound” practically does not protect against severe frost, but it actively removes moisture during spring floods, preventing the root system from getting wet. To create a thermal cushion, instead of soil from the site, you should use humus. It is looser, does not cake, and its thermal insulation is higher than that of ordinary land. And yet, even such a shelter should be considered only as an additional one, without neglecting the installation of a protective hut on top of rose bushes and other plants.

The layer of humus or peat above the plant should be 15-20 cm

Myth 4. Spruce branches and fallen leaves are the best shelter for plants

Spruce spruce branches and leaf litter are often mentioned as the best covering material for plants. And there is a lot of truth in this - they do a really good job not only of protecting plants from the cold, but also of other functions. In particular, pine or spruce spruce branches:

• protects plants from wet snow, rain and cold wind;
• a warm air ventilated layer is formed above the plants;
• covering with spruce branches protects crops from sunburn and sudden temperature changes;
• protects plants from rodents.

But don’t forget about shortcomings spruce branches:

• It is problematic to prepare a sufficient amount of spruce branches;
• during the harvesting process, it is possible to violate the legislation on the protection of forest plantations;
• Along with spruce branches, pests and diseases can be brought into the area.

Before collecting spruce branches, you need to make sure that there are no yellow or dry needles on the plant - this is often a sign of a serious disease.

When covered with spruce branches, the temperature under it does not drop below –5°C even in thirty-degree frost

Use as a covering material fallen leaves also quite popular. But summer residents usually do not remove leaves that have fallen from fruit trees and bushes. It decomposes quickly and protects plants from the first frosts. However, is fall foliage effective in the long term? The fact is that only the leaves of oak, chestnut, maple and birch do not rot for a long time. Mice and other rodents like to spend the winter in them. Therefore, you can only use dry foliage, and it is advisable that it sits for several months, or even a whole year. The foliage is usually prepared in advance by placing it in bags and storing it in this way for a period of time.

Myth 5. Excessive reliance on nonwoven material

Covering synthetic materials quickly won the love of summer residents, and they began to be actively used to protect various crops not only from cold weather, but also from weeds and to preserve moisture. Unfortunately, dense materials sometimes they play a cruel joke on summer residents. Initially they were developed for countries with warm and little snow winters. But when they began to be used in conditions of temperature changes, it turned out that with the arrival of spring the plants began to die. Winter was especially bad under cover conifers and decorative thujas. Due to temperature changes, they found themselves trapped in an ice shell, which their shelter turned into. As a result, gardeners became disappointed in the new material and stopped purchasing it.

There is no need to cover the plant early; in any case, it should harden a little at temperatures down to –5°C

This was due to the fact that conifers were carefully wrapped completely in impenetrable material. Throw the film over top part tree, covering about 1/3 of the trunk with it. But even in this case, do not fix it rigidly, but organize something like a “wigwam”. The needles will not come into contact with the frozen film and will be able to breathe. The shelter will also protect the tree from sunlight, which is especially insidious during thaws.

In this case, cover the lower part of the tree with snow and lay spruce branches on top. Cover the plant non-woven material completely as close as possible to early-mid March, when all the snow has melted.

What techniques do you use to cover plants in the garden? Share your ideas and observations, both positive and negative. In the first case, our readers and I will be able to be happy for you, and in the second, together we will try to find ways to solve problems with winter shelter.

In regions where winter climatic conditions are quite difficult, gardeners have to make some efforts to ensure that many species garden plants wintered well. This is especially true for those plants that Lately have become very common in amateur gardening and floriculture: roses, clematis, chrysanthemums, bulbs, actinidia, garden strawberries, new varieties of raspberries, blackberries, etc.

After much searching, trial and error, I came to the following conclusions:

1. All plants that do not grow wild in our area or have undergone hybridization (crossing) with species and varieties from more southern and partially western regions cannot withstand frosts below -25...-30 degrees without special agrotechnical techniques.

2. Without protection, a long frosty period is dangerous for these plants.

3. Such plants are greatly damaged by prolonged exposure to damp weather with temperatures around zero, followed by freezing and thawing of the ice crust.

4. Plants can suffer especially hard after a cold and rainy summer, when they do not have time to go through all stages of growth and preparation for winter.

5. For many plants, alternating thaws and frosts are dangerous.

6. Violation of agricultural practices, overfeeding with nitrogen fertilizers and their application too late sharply reduces the winter hardiness of plants. In October, such plants have dark green foliage and intensively growing shoot tips.

To eliminate the impact of possible adverse factors, plants have to be covered for the winter. To cover them, gardeners and flower growers use various materials: sawdust, peat, butcher's broom, paper, various films, hilling, etc. However, these are only half measures.

Without protection from getting wet, they are completely unsuitable for covering above-ground parts of plants. sawdust, peat (except for shelter bulbous plants, which do not have an aerial part in autumn).

Hilling up with earth will slightly protect the plant from the cold, but at the air-ground interface with high humidity the plant can suffer greatly.

It would be a mistake if only green materials are used as insulation material. fir branches- this is not protection against frost, but a good means for accumulating snow and minor protection against mice and hares.

Most suitable material to cover plants before wintering - fallen tree leaves, preferably from large-leaved tree species (for example, maple, chestnut). In the absence of them, any leaves will do (just keep in mind that small ones cake faster). Leaves for covering plants are collected in dry weather and covered with plastic film before use to prevent them from getting wet.

After winter use, the leaves can be piled up: in one season, wild earthworms will process them into a natural concentrated fertilizer with a humus content of up to 16%. What if the leaves are used for crop feed? California worms, then the humus content will increase to 35%.

To protect plants in winter from the effects of adverse factors, it is best to use an air-dry shelter in combination with or without dry leaves (this depends on the winter hardiness of the plants). The whole point of this method of shelter is to leave a sufficient amount of air space to reduce temperature fluctuations and not allow dripping moisture to reach the plants during the cold period.

If the plants are arranged in a row, then to build a common air-dry shelter you need to make wooden boards from boards of any thickness (precise adjustment is not necessary, there may be small gaps) about 80 cm high and of any length.

For single low plants, a suitable size is suitable. wooden box, turned upside down. Shields and boxes serve reliable frame for further covering of plants. However, due to the fact that there is too little space under the boxes, when the outside air temperature fluctuates, the temperature underneath them also fluctuates (much more than under the shelter of shields, where there is a sufficient amount of free space). Therefore, when covering plants with boxes, they need to be additionally insulated, for example, with leaves.

To prevent plants under cover from being damaged by mice, they must first be wrapped in spruce paws.

Shelter different types plants

A) Climbing and semi climbing roses .

At the beginning of August I finish fertilizing the roses with nitrogen. At the beginning of October (if the weather is still warm, then later) I cut out all the unripe shoots of roses to the base, and trim the unripe ends to the ripened part . I cut out old unproductive shoots into young growths (not necessarily annual ones), which have grown closer to the base of the bush. Which rose shoots to cut depend on the group of roses and the characteristics of the variety.

After cleaning the rose bush, it is advisable to trim off all the leaves with scissors. When the air temperature is positive, I bend all the shoots as low as possible to the ground (but you can’t put the shoots on the ground) and use iron hooks to secure them in the form of a rope. I make an iron hook from a piece of fairly thick wire. I stick the hook into the ground (as much as it will go in), and with its upper part I bend around the shoots of roses. If necessary, I tie a rope of rose shoots in several places with a rope.

b) Hybrid tea and other roses.

Preparing them for winter is much easier. I cut out all the unproductive shoots of the bush to the young growth - preferably to the growth that has grown lower from the ground level. I cut out all unripe shoots to the ground. I shorten all the shoots to such a length that they do not interfere with the installation of panels or boxes. It is not necessary to trim leaves from bushes.

V) Standard roses.

It is necessary to bend the rootstock (rose hip shoot) of the standard rose so that the grafted part of the plant can be covered with shields. You need to bend the rosehip in the direction of the bend of the root collar; When planting a standard rose, it is better to plant the rosehip at an angle.

Shields must be placed over shoots bent or cut to the required height standard roses as gable roof. Lay a whole plastic film over the shields (you can use used one, which you remove from film greenhouses in the fall) of such a size that it is enough to cover the ends. If one piece of film is missing, then you can lay two or three pieces overlapping and secure them well so that the wind does not tear them off. I leave the ends of the shelter open until the beginning of November. I select in advance the appropriate material for the ends (this could be fiberboard, waste boards, plywood).

If you use boxes to cover rose bushes, then in October, if the weather is unfavorable, you can cover the boxes with film, leaving one side open.

After the soil freezes (but in any case no later than the beginning of November), I hammer in the ends of the shelters and lower the film over them. Shelter boxes also need to be completely covered with film. Wet snow and rain should not get inside the rose shelters.

If there is at least a 10 cm layer of snow on the rose cover, then the temperature under the cover, even in the most severe frosts, does not fall below minus 10 degrees. During frosts, everything inside the shelter (rose shoots, walls of shields) is covered with a thick layer of frost, the needles of which reach a length of 10 cm. During prolonged thaws, the frost inside the shelter slowly melts and, until it melts, the temperature under the shelter does not rise above zero.

From November to mid-February, the sun does not warm up the covering film, so there is no danger of premature growth and damping out of plants. Hilling up rose bushes with such shelter is not required, since there are no frost damage to the bark on the shoots.

If by the beginning of March the weather is warm and there is little snow, you definitely need to lift the film at the ends of the rose shelters and, perhaps, open the ends on both sides. If there is a lot of snow and the plastic film is covered with snow, you can take your time with this.

At the beginning of April, I completely remove the film from the coverings of the roses. I remove the shields when there is time (but not before the soil under the shields has completely thawed).

U own root roses In the first year of cultivation, the roots cannot withstand even slight freezing of the soil, so in winter they need to be stored in the basement or kept in the apartment on the windowsill. When the shoots grow strongly, I pinch the tops; I water the roses little so that the soil is slightly moist. In the second year of life, I cover these already grown roses as usual, additionally insulating the base of the bush with a leaf. From the third year they can be covered like ordinary adult roses.

A) Varieties of clematisC . jackmanii , C . viticella considered late bloomers; The beginning of their flowering is from mid-July on the shoots of the current year. Therefore, their shoots do not need to be saved for the winter. In mid-October, I cut off all the vines at a height of 30–60 cm from the ground, and lay the rest on the ground. Often, for winter protection, a dry leaf is poured onto the vine in a layer of 30–40 cm, and a whole plastic film is laid on top of the leaves. But this method of covering is bad because the snow presses the insulating material against the shoots and the thermal insulation is lost. Therefore, it is best to do this:

If clematis grows as a separate bush, then you need to cover the pruned vine with leaves, place the box upside down on top, and lay a whole plastic film on top of the box;

If clematis grow in groups or the bush is large, there are two options:

1) Cover the vine with leaves and place a horizontal wooden board on top. To prevent the shield from compressing the leaves, place bricks or other suitable material under it from the edges. Lay a whole plastic film over the shields.

2) Place a wooden shield on the vine, having previously placed bricks under it so that there is air gap. Place leaves on top of the shield and cover them with film.

With the first method of covering clematis, mice can make nests in the leaves of the shelter. Therefore, I recommend covering the perimeter of the shelter with “dog” mint, the smell of which mice cannot stand.

When snow falls, I compact the paths around the plants to protect clematis from rodents.

The second covering method will require more leaves; The thermal insulation of the shelter is gradually lost due to the compression of leaves by snow.

b) Clematis varieties C. lanuginosa, C. patens bloom on shoots of last and current year, and clematis varieties C. florida They bloom only on last year's shoots. These three groups are considered early bloomers (first bloom in May-early June). Therefore, it is advisable to preserve their shoots for next year. In mid-October, I cut off all the leaves from them, cut off the tops of the vines to a well-ripened bud. If necessary, I thin out the plant, cutting out weak shoots. I shorten the remaining vine to a length of 1.0-1.5 m, twist it into a ring and cover it as described above, in the method of covering clematis 1) or 2).

To prevent clematis vines from drying out in the spring, it is important to remove the covering film in time. I usually take it off at the end of March, if there is no snow and it is warm enough. There is no need to rush into removing shields and leaves from the clematis vine.

The whole difficulty in growing chrysanthemums is preserving them in winter period.

With Korean small-flowered chrysanthemums (they are also called “oaks”) the situation is simpler. After flowering or cutting the flowers, I cut off their shoots closer to the ground, cover them with tree leaves, and lay a whole plastic film on top (I remove it when the soil thaws).

Indian large-flowered chrysanthemums cannot withstand long frosty winters, so you have to dig them up and put them in storage for winter preservation. The most valuable in chrysanthemum mother plants are the layerings that grew during the chrysanthemum flowering.

After cutting the flowers, I cut the queen cells of large-flowered chrysanthemums at a height of 10 cm from the ground, dig them up and place them tightly in deep boxes. I add slightly damp peat mixed with sand (1:1) on top so that only the tops of the layering remain on top. Until the cold weather, I leave chrysanthemums in the greenhouse or on the veranda without watering them. On winter storage I place the boxes with chrysanthemums after the soil with the queen cells has dried out significantly (the drier the better). Any room with a temperature from –1 to +5 degrees, without constant lighting, is suitable for storing chrysanthemums - under such conditions, chrysanthemums almost do not grow. In winter, I under no circumstances water the mother plants of chrysanthemums - then the old roots do not take root.

Of the bulbous plants, the most unpretentious are tulips, daffodils, many small-bulbous plants, and colchicum. But you shouldn’t be late in planting these plants. Time is running out optimal timing planting bulbs is considered late boarding. Climatic conditions We have such that snow can fall on October 20, and there will be no more warmth. When temperatures are low and there is little or no snow, the soil freezes deeply and late-planted plants will not be able to take root. And without autumn rooting of the bulbs, even colchicum dies in winter, although this plant is very winter-hardy.

Non-thorny varieties garden blackberry(For example, Thornfree, Thornless etc.), which are intermediate species between erect bramble and creeping dewberry, I cover them in the same way as climbing roses.

Before bending down one-year-old blackberry shoots, I make sure to cut off shoots that have only recently bear fruit to the root collar. The fruiting of this blackberry extends from August to the end of September, but this does not prevent the young shoots from ripening - before bending them down, I shorten them to 2 meters.

In ten years successful cultivation and the practice of using the air-dry method of covering shoots for the winter, not a single rose or blackberry bush died.

6. Raspberries and blackberries

All high-yielding and large-fruited raspberry varieties ( Mirage, Stolichnaya, Scottish, Arabesque, Taganka, Maroseyka, Yellow Giant, Standard etc.), as well as black Cumberland raspberries and blackberries Agawam Without special agrotechnical techniques, unfortunately, they cannot withstand frosts below -25...-30 degrees. Their ideal winter protection would be an air-dry shelter, but in this case they can do without shields.

In order for these plants to overwinter well and produce a high yield next year, we must begin preparing them for wintering in June.

Without the growth of powerful shoots, which can only be obtained with proper agricultural technology and fertilizing, successful wintering and high yields Can't wait with these plants. My tips:

* Don't overfeed your plants. If you use fresh cattle manure to mulch the bushes, place it around the plants no later than June 15th. If you use regular mulch, then feeding the bushes in the form of diluted manure should be stopped after July 25th.

* When the bushes are well lit by the sun, then the shoots grow more complete and winter-hardy.

*Plants should not be planted too densely. Remember that from large quantity shoots of raspberries and blackberries, the yield does not increase, but, on the contrary, decreases. The optimal number is 7-8 shoots (growing on a trellis) and 4 shoots (growing in a bush). When growing raspberries and blackberries on a trellis, I tie the shoots from each other at a distance of 10 cm and 25 cm, respectively. Immediately after the end of fruiting, I cut out the fruiting shoots.

* By September 20 at blackberry and raspberry bushes I cut off the tops of the shoots. In early varieties (Yellow Giant, Arabesque, etc.), after pruning the tops, the upper buds begin to grow, which is undesirable. In this case, it is better to bend the tops in an arc, directing them vertically downwards. These techniques accelerate the ripening of the wood of the shoots.

* At the end of September, when the shoots can still be easily bent at any angle, on raspberries I remove all the leaves and bend the shoots, tying them into a rope. I completely cut out weak and grassy shoots. If you leave the leaves, they will cover the buds - then in wet weather the leaves will get wet and rot, which will lead to a burn of the buds.

If the plants grew on a trellis, then I tie the bundles of shoots to the bottom wire at a height of no more than 30 cm from the ground. To prevent the bundle of shoots from lying on the ground under the subsiding snow in the spring, I tie the wire in several places to stakes or reinforcement driven into the ground.

* If there is not enough snow, when the air temperature drops below -25 degrees I add additional snow from the paths to these plants.

All these techniques allow plants to successfully withstand adverse weather conditions in winter. .

During prolonged thaws, especially closer to spring, raspberries and blackberries begin to flow sap and buds swell. A sharp cold snap causes the juice and buds to freeze. If this happens repeatedly in winter, then the future harvest is at risk. And when plant shoots are tied into a rope and covered with snow, the cold wind no longer dries them out, and there is no significant influence of temperature fluctuations.

At autumn planting Raspberries and blackberries must be protected from the unfavorable factors of winter, since their weak roots are the least winter-hardy. If there is enough moisture in the ground, I do not water the plants after planting, but only firmly trample the soil around the shoots. If there is a lack of moisture in the soil, I water it well once. At the end of October, I trim the planted plants to the required height, and cover the bottom of the shoots with dry leaves of tree species (at least 30 cm layer). I close the shoots with a suitable box, turned upside down, and cover it with a whole plastic film, leaving an vent; in November I cover the box completely and sprinkle it with snow. This is important so that the ground under the shelter does not freeze deeply, otherwise the planted plant will bulge out of the soil. The plants will overwinter well under such cover.

In spring, you need to open the shelter in time, providing the plants with ventilation.

With the exception of a few varieties (for example, such Gigantella Max) strawberries are quite winter-hardy, but violation of agricultural practices leads to freezing of plants.

Without special protection, strawberries cannot be planted later than September 15, otherwise they will not have time to take root before the cold weather. In herbaceous plants, the most intensive growth occurs from 19 to 21 hours, and after September 15 the evenings are already quite cold; as a result, root growth is slow, which will affect overwintering (especially if autumn and winter have little snow and frost, which happens quite often). I cover strawberries transplanted in autumn with leaves of tree species (20-30 cm layer).

Fertilizing and loosening of strawberries must be completed by August 15. With later loosening, part of the roots of the plants are torn off, and they do not have time to take root again, which can lead to freezing. It is better to remove weeds that grew in the strawberry bed at the end of August and in the fall in the spring - after all, they will not have time to produce mature seeds before the cold weather. In the spring, having dug up the weeds in the garden bed, I get from them good food for earthworms, and subsequently - natural fertilizer for strawberries right where they grow.

If you did not have time to plant strawberries before August 15, then it is better to postpone planting until spring, preparing the place in advance in the fall. As soon as the soil thaws in the spring (even if it’s still dirty, wet, cool), it will be possible to plant strawberry bushes on permanent place. At the same time, there is no need to water them or loosen them - no care is required until May. When the soil dries out and becomes warm, I feed the strawberries (in liquid form) and loosen them. Then this year I get no less harvest from such bushes than from those planted at the end of summer.

Once fruiting begins, actinidia does not need shelter and can easily withstand severe frosts down to -40 degrees, but at a young age the plant must be protected from severe frosts. When planting in autumn, actinidia bushes in the first year must be covered with a layer of leaves (40-50 cm) without using film material. Since actinidia is a liana, it bends and bends easily. The plant can be placed directly on the ground, placing spruce branches under the vine.

It is not necessary to bend actinidia in the fall every year before fruiting begins; this should be done when a severe winter is expected.

What kind of winter will it be?

Here are some signs for predicting winter features that usually come true:

* In summer there are few or no mushrooms, usually in a rainy year (if the year is dry and hot, then there will not necessarily be a harsh winter, because with early autumn rains there are always mushrooms).

* There are a lot of “clothes” on the onion and it takes a long time to dry, although it is warm and dry.

*There are a lot of rowan trees, even in the forest. This is not directly related to the cold winter, but a frosty, rainless November can lead to the beginning of a very cold December. There's not enough snow in December yet, but... diurnal cycle temperatures are the lowest of all winter months. Changes in weather are usually associated with the phases of the moon and can change on a new moon.

* A lot of nettnik in Indian summer - for a clear autumn and cold winter.

*Trees do not shed all their leaves until the end of November. If the first snow fell on dry ground until the trees had completely shed their leaves, then it will soon disappear. Until the leaves fall from the cherry trees, no matter how much snow falls, winter will not come.

*Watch for migratory birds: if the geese and cranes flew late (later October 5) and high, then winter will come on time or it will be late.

*If the wind is east or north, the winter will be harsh. Typically, air circulation in the atmosphere is established for a long time.

The combination of all these signs is quite likely to tell gardeners what kind of winter it will be like.

Nedyalkov Stefan Fedorovich (Novopolotsk, Republic of Belarus)
[email protected]

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Sheltering plants for the winter should be done on time and in moderation: too much zeal in this matter can bring disastrous results. A slight frost is not so terrible for wintering plants, even very heat-loving ones; overheating is much more dangerous.

After all, plants often die not from cold, but from dampness caused by temperature fluctuations during a thaw. The moisture accumulated during a warm day from melting snow freezes at night and cannot evaporate from under the thick covering coat that carries real threat damping off of the root collar, and subsequently even the death of young plantings.

When to cover wintering plants?

Not only plants covered with an extra thick coat for the winter are exposed to the threat of overheating and damping off, but also plants covered too early, when the weather is still warm and above zero for a long time. Wintering plantings need to be covered when the thermometer is consistently below 5-7 degrees below zero. and the ground will freeze 4-5 cm.

How to cover plants for the winter?

Of course, the best shelter is spruce branches. The material itself is warm and holds snow well. But if three thousand summer residents getting off the train at my stop go into the forest for spruce paws, then the forest will not survive even two or three years. Therefore, we are looking for other equally wonderful covering materials, both natural and adapted for this purpose, which can replace spruce branches. For example, we rake up fallen leaves (it should be dry), peat, humus.

Each type of plant has its own preferences in choosing covering material. For example, roses are not suitable for mulching with clean peat, damp soil or sawdust, since these materials quickly absorb moisture and, when the temperature drops sharply, form an ice crust in the tree trunk, which is dangerous for plants. The roots stop breathing, and the moisture accumulated under the crust causes the root collar to dry out.

Roses cut to the woody part of the stem: the immature shoots will die anyway, but will only spread the infection. Hill up and then sprinkle the bushes with clean, dry sand to a height of 20-25cm. Cut off the remaining leaves on the branches with scissors.

climbing roses need to be removed from the support and placed on spruce branches or on wooden boards. It is important for them that rain and wet snow do not fall on the stems during wintering.

Clematis If necessary, you can trim it, or you can lay it in rings around the trunk. They winter well if, after moisture-recharging watering (this is carried out before the soil freezes!), they are sprinkled with dry soil or sawdust.

Hyacinth, irises, primrose, violam A blanket of sawdust or dry leaves 10-15cm thick is suitable.

Not only sissy clematis and capricious roses need pre-winter care from an amateur gardener. Other heat-loving species also require attention. ornamental plants:, hydrangeas, heathers, and conifers, as well as young, more winter-hardy plants that have not yet come into force.

Tree trunk circle and root collar rhododendrons, especially young ones, need to be well covered with a 15-centimeter layer of fallen leaves.

Buddleya requires pre-winter pruning. The cut branches can be buried in the turf soil in the basement, and planted in the ground in the spring - you will have a lot of buddleia.

Mulching the tree trunks will help you get through the winter easier hydrangeas and young coniferous.

A blanket made from a 10-centimeter layer of dry leaves or sawdust will appeal to you hyacinths, lilies, irises and other primroses. If you take this into account, just remember to remove the cover in time in the spring.

Decorative vines, which for some reason you cannot remove from the support for the winter, you can insulate directly on it: pull the branches with a soft cord closer to each other and to the support, then wrap the plants well with several layers of spunbond, lutrasil or other breathable covering material on top wrap in film. The insulation must be well secured with a cord.

This covering can also be used to insulate young seedlings of heat-loving fruit trees for the winter - apricot, peach, almonds and other southerners whom you decided to accustom to our difficult climate in a harmful zone. This will also protect them from February sunburn - for evergreens it is not so much the winter cold that is dangerous as the winter sun.

Do not forget about such reliable insulation as snow. The task of the gardener and gardener is to take effective measures to snow retention: the more snow lingers around the plant, the better.

Excellent retention of snow strawberry patch branches left over from pruning the garden, cut stems of raspberries and berry bushes.

Stems of corn, Jerusalem artichoke and sunflower, rough stems of flowers, dried dill will also be appropriate in garden, berry and flower plantings.

Sheltering plants for the winter, done correctly, is insulation with a moderate layer suitable for of this plant material, made on time and facilitating snow retention. Sweet dreams to your plants during winter hibernation!

Your house and dacha in the fall need special care, since winter is just around the corner, and there are fewer and fewer warm days suitable for work. On plot of land all living things seem to freeze in anticipation of extraordinary metamorphoses. Slowing down life processes, plants are doing their best to prepare for the most unfavorable time of the year.

However, plants often do not always manage to fully enter the hibernation season and successfully endure it without human help. Everything appears on our sites every year more types and varieties native to warmer climatic zones. Often these are already well acclimatized hybrids, capable of more or less easily adapting to harsh weather conditions, although when compared with local flora, in terms of endurance, these plants are noticeably inferior to them.

Trees and shrubs are especially at risk of death in winter, the ground part of which is not covered with protective protection during hibernation. insulating materials and snow. Blown from all sides by a frosty wind, the branches can receive local frostbite, the worst of which is freezing and death of the buds.
When touching on the topic of winter hardiness of plants, it is important to understand that the endurance of varieties to cold depends on many combined factors:

Cultivated plants imported from warm climatic zones, as well as local ones crossed with heat-loving varieties, rarely tolerate temperature drops starting from -25°C;

Long-term stay in low temperatures leads to the complete death of both above-ground and underground parts of heat-loving plants;

The vegetable garden in autumn is characterized by a destructive alternation of high humidity at temperatures around zero with sudden freezing and thawing of the soil;

Late cold summers with prolonged rainy weather lead to a prolongation of the growing season, when seeds begin to ripen in the pre-autumn period, without having time to reduce the growth rate by winter;

Incorrect agricultural techniques, excessive or late application of fertilizers rich in nitrogen can significantly prolong all vegetation processes, bypassing quality preparation for seasonal hibernation.

Covering materials

Covering materials can be used for any plant on your site, both for decorative flower species and food.

Let's look at the main materials:

1. Lapnik coniferous species, like the pine needles themselves, have excellent snow retention and thermal insulation properties.

2. Lutrasil is an artificial fabric of varying density, used as a regular covering material over the soil, as well as when covering volumetric structures and frames (for example, knocked together pyramids for conifers).

3. A ready-made mulch mixture made from ecological natural ingredients, which can be easily purchased at any flower shop, is used mainly to cover varieties that are sensitive to even the slightest temperature fluctuations (often as a cover for roses and other capricious crops).

4. Humus, fresh and rotted leaves of tree species, peat serve comfortable material for mulching and hilling the covered area of ​​land.

5. Kraft paper, due to its density and high insulating ability, provides high-quality protection from frost and temperature changes.

All of the materials listed are capable of providing excellent protection against frost, but it is worth considering separately the strong and weak sides shelters. So, with all the convenience of using lutrasil, one should not forget about its ability to insulate without producing sufficient air circulation. Heat accumulated inside can lead to overheating of plants during even short winter thaws.

Kraft paper is pleasantly pleased with its impermeability to light, as a result of which your pets (in particular conifers) will not be at risk of any sunburn.

Vegetable mulch taken from natural environment, may be infected dangerous pests and diseases, the manifestation of which will be noticeable in the next growing season. Many gardeners and summer residents, when preparing their garden for the winter, prefer to buy ready-made mulch, which can also act as a pleasant decorative material.

Shelter of Roses

When preparing a site for winter, gardeners are especially concerned about high-quality shelter for roses. Today there are a huge variety of their forms, for each of which there is certain rules preparation for hibernation.

For example, climbing roses are finished fertilizing with nitrogen-containing fertilizers at the end of July - beginning of August. In October, unripe shoots are removed from roses to the point of ripening. Taking advantage of the moment, you can try to form a bush by cutting off old, useless, unproductive vines.

It is advisable to tear off the foliage from the bushes or trim them with disinfected scissors - as you like. It is advisable to bend the lashes themselves and fix them as close to the ground as possible so that they do not touch it.

Standard roses are also bent to the ground, trying not to damage the root collar; it is best to do this anatomically along its visible bend. When pruning, all other roses do not have to be bent down and freed from leaves, the main thing is that the remaining ground part allows for a high-quality covering material to be applied on top, especially if it is a box or fabric.

It is important to remember that preparing roses must be done at temperatures above zero or above zero, since covering roses in winter is more than a useless exercise - the flowers will die anyway. If you are used to hilling and covering roses with fabric, you have probably already encountered the problem of the bush rotting and becoming overgrown with a dangerous fungus. As a rule, this occurs due to disruption of air microcirculation inside the shelter, accumulation and heating of moisture during thaws.

To prevent such unpleasant consequences, it is important to ensure that there is a small gap for breathing between the ground and the fabric. Special purchased “fur coat”-type shelters based on peat and sphagnum moss will help absorb excess moisture. The latter, in turn, in addition to thermal insulation properties, has good bactericidal and antifungal effects.

The prepared mixture is usually simply poured over the hilled bushes in a layer of several centimeters and that’s it - a reliable shelter for roses for the winter is ready! This mixture guarantees effective preservation during wintering of almost all plants on the site, except, perhaps, trees and tall shrubs, whose branches may still be damaged by the frosty wind.

Chrysanthemum shelter

Ordinary chrysanthemums, cultivated by gardeners for many years, tolerate winter heat well. Modern Korean varieties do not have impressive bud sizes, but they are best adapted to our weather.

After the chrysanthemums have faded, they need to be trimmed and bent to the ground like roses. The top of the bushes can be covered with mulch from leaves or humus, additionally covered with any waterproof material. As soon as the soil begins to thaw, you can lift the fabric (film), completely removing it only after the ground has completely thawed.

Beautifully flowering Indian chrysanthemums they are striking in the size of their buds and their intolerance to even the slightest drop in temperature. It is better not to leave these flowers in open ground over the winter. To preserve them, it is worth digging out an underground part and placing them in a cellar or other poorly heated dark room before spring arrives.

The ground part is cut to 10-12 cm in height. For installation, it is advisable to use wooden “breathable” boxes. Chrysanthemums laid with layering upwards are sprinkled with a substrate consisting of peat, sphagnum and coarse-grained river sand optional. Chrysanthemums should never be watered, as old roots may begin to take root, especially in the presence of even a weak light source.

Clematis shelter

Clematis flower beds also require special care in the fall. Depending on the variety, clematis are pruned to a height of 30 cm to 1.5 m. All unnecessary vines are cut out, the rest are twisted into a ring or spiral and placed closer to the ground. As thermal insulation material Any natural material can appear, which is sprinkled on the plants in a layer of 20–40 cm.

The substrate must be well dried and porous. The top of the clematis is additionally covered (if necessary) with a box or frame, as well as any waterproof material. There should be a small gap between the ground and the top layer of the shelter.

This method of protection requires additional actions on the part of the grower. In winter, it is necessary to trample the paths between the plants so that mice cannot get into the gaps. In the spring, with the arrival of the first thaw, it is important to remove the waterproof material (usually film) in time to prevent the clematis from rotting.

Shelter bulbous

In order for the garden and vegetable garden not to experience much stress in winter, it is necessary to stock up on mulching in advance. natural material, since, as practice shows, there is never too much of it - there will always be something that could still be covered. This is especially relevant for bulbous plants, since they underground part contains a lot of water and is subject to rapid freezing.

Perhaps the most unpretentious among the bulbous ones are tulips, some small-bulbous, Colchicum, less often daffodils. Colchicum preferably planted in open ground no later than mid-August, so it will not require additional shelter, having had time to take root well. Planting on the 20th of October will require reliable shelter.

Daffodils and some small-bulbous plants are recommended to be planted no later than mid-September. Tulips They can wait until mid-October. If planting dates shift noticeably forward, insulation for the winter is simply necessary. Daffodils And lilies generally do not tolerate severe frosts well, so it is advisable to play it safe and always cover these flowers.

To prevent the bulbs from getting wet in the soil, you can cover them with film until the rains stop completely. Before the final preparations, dry mulch should be added under the film in a layer of no more than 3–5 cm. You can leave a gap for breathing.

With the arrival of autumn, it is usually the shelter for roses that causes particular concern, and the importance of insulating other plants in some cases is reduced to almost nothing. But we should not forget that in our vegetable gardens and orchards there are more people from warm countries demanding special attention. And in order not to be upset next spring by the presence of flowers that have not risen, it is worth thinking now about how exactly you will insulate the plants for winter.

How to properly cover plants for the winter video

Good luck in floriculture!