Protecting A Commercial Garden From The Winter
What Do I Do With My Commercial Garden Plants In The Winter?
As the colder weather arrives, so too does the threat it poses to plants. However, Countrywide Grounds Maintenance can be at your side to help you both clear your commercial premises of snow, and help you prevent snow build up with our winter maintenance services. Our team is made up of garden maintenance experts who have provided some winter plant care tips that you can use to keep your commercial gardens safe for the winter.
Winter Burns
During snowfall you may see areas on your commercial site that aren’t touched by the snow due to shelter nearby. Any potted plants you may have, for example in your entrances and store fronts, can be shifted over to these sheltered areas to keep them protected. This won’t prevent cold temperatures, however it should prevent the weight of snowfall from damaging your plants keeping your commercial entrance presentable. Keeping your plants sheltered and away from the elements can also help you in preventing a phenomenon called “winter burn”.
Primarily affecting evergreen plants, winter burn is an issue in which plant dehydration leads to loss of colour in the plant. Evergreen plants are affected more-so than other plants due to the nature of how they are, they typically don’t shed their leaves through the winter, as opposed to a deciduous tree. As evergreen plants retain their leaves, they then become exposed to wind and sunlight once dehydrated, which leaves a brown, almost rusty, colour on the plant.
Mulching In The Winter
Mulching gives your plants an added level of protection against the winter elements. The idea is that by using resources such as bark chippings, leaf mould, or certain types of manure, you can protect the roots of your plants. With a roughly 5cm thick layer of mulch, you can see your plants through to spring. Depending on your garden as well, some of what you would need for mulching can already be found close by so you may not need to spend any of the company budget for this. Applying mulch to your plants during your early winter garden care preparations will trap moisture underground ensuring your plants don’t dry out.
Winter Watering For Your Plants
This may seem strange, however combined with mulching, watering can help your plants survive through winter. As plants enter a dormant state, their watering requirements become far more limited, with watering required once every 2-3 weeks depending on your plant. Once the soil under your favourite plants is watered, applying the mulch above will keep the moisture in for longer and keep the roots fresher.
Protecting Your Plant Pots This Winter
In the spring and summer, we get used to our plants being out in the open and enjoying the warmer weather, especially when we have taken the time to piece together our garden and commercial spaces in a specific way. Although moving your plant pots can ruin the original vision you had, it is one of the simplest solutions to protecting these pots during the colder months. If the cold can’t get to your plant pots, it cannot damage them. Another method to protect your plant pots would be to make use of hessian sacks or other heavy-duty materials you have around the workplace. Tightly fastening materials like this to plant containers traps air and forms a level of insulation to shield the plant roots.
How To Protect Greenery Against Freezing This Winter
If you don’t have plant pots and instead have greenery planted on your commercial grounds, then you can still wrap these to keep the winter elements away. The first instinct when it comes to protecting your plants from cold snaps may be to cover them with plastic sheets. However, whilst this does provide some level of insulation, the plastic sheets can prevent an effective airflow. Instead, you consider getting a garden fleece which is breathable and allows moisture to pass through your individual or bed of plants. Garden fleeces can also prevent snow from settling directly on your plants.
Should you be growing trees as a longer term project for your company, then material wrapping will also be key here. Young trees, around the 3-year mark, can be susceptible to the winter cold. Utilising materials such as a burlap sack, cardboard, or even plastics can keep the frost off your new trees and keep them fit and healthy. Plastic may be ineffective for shrubbery and flowers, however on a tree the aim is to keep the weather form directly affecting the surface.
Winter-Proofing Your Grounds
As we enter the midway point into winter and your plants remain dormant, now is the time for a refresh. Monitoring plant health and potential plant rot is important as this can spread if left untreated, however now can be an important time to freshen up your tools and plan what you are looking to do in your garden in the upcoming year. If your secateurs need sharpening or some of your tools are loose then get them repaired. If you are a school or local council that has a greenhouse then spend some time cleaning it of any unwanted algae growth or clutter. Removing clutter and cleaning the glass can allow for more sun exposure to plants inside.
We hope this advice can help you keep your greenery fresh between seasons. We appreciate that some cases require a professional touch, so for further enquiries into the grounds maintenance and winter maintenance services we provide, please call us on 0808 301 9747 or alternatively complete a contact form and one of our friendly team will get back to you to find out how we can help you further.