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Garden plants winterization to care plants indoors and outdoors in USA

Every individual selects garden plants according to their choices and needs. So different gardens can have various seasonal and off-seasonal plants. Few garden plants can survive winters without any damage or dormancy. But most moderate-climate garden plants need special care during winter to survive. These garden plants can be indoor or outdoor.

Garden plants winterization 

Garden care in winter is very challenging work for everyone because various plant varieties need different treatment and care.

Garden plants winter care in USA and garden winterization
Some plants can't survive in shade, some in intense sunlight, some in too cold, snowfall, etc. 

What is garden winterization?

We call a garden winterized if we associate the garden with winter care and winter treatment. The garden winterization process theme is simple but the work is challenging. 

Mulching, weeding and using winter plant blankets, and greenhouse covers are part of winterization but the challenging part is managing it with every individual garden section and plant. We can't use greenhouse or plant blankets with every plant. 

So let's understand how to deal with such things and provide your garden safety in winter. 

Requirements for winter garden care

Considering your garden has various varieties of garden plants, you need multiple arrangements to take care of it in winter. Following are some basic requirements(with optional) for the winterization of the garden-

Individual and wide plant blanket 

In the snowfall region, winter-sensitive plants like aloe plants, snake plants, etc. can't handle snow and too cold weather for more than 3 days. To save outdoor gardens in such regions, you can use winter plant blankets that cover every plant and make an adiabatic layer. If you have bigger plants, then you can use individual plant blankets. 

These blankets also work in the evening and night due. But in daylight, you can remove them. 

Greenhouse 

Greenhouse covers are not helpful in snowfall regions because they are not heated adiabatically as winter plant blankets. But to save plants in the evening and night due, they can help. 

If you use a thick poly layer greenhouse, then you can hold a difference for the inside greenhouse. 

Tools required

Following are some basic tools required for the winterization of garden plants-

  • Weeding tool
  • Mulching tool 
  • Small cultivator tool 
  • Safety hand gloves
  • Hook tightening tool 

Steps of winterization of garden(outdoor plants)

The following steps provide DIY helpful information for the winterization of a garden- 

Tagging plants

List down every single garden plant according to its season and climate. Distinguish odd climate plants and mark them properly. 

Separate columns of various information like plant needs, season, growing conditions, etc.

It helps you to reach directly the right plants you have to care for first and then secondary(seasonal) plants. 

90% of the off-season and foreign garden plants need protection in winter. So you can consider these plants to care for either inside the greenhouse or winter plant blankets. 

Final weeding 

Clean all the weeds either in fall or at least in the first few winter days. It is always better to care for and protect weedless gardens and plants. 

Mulching 

Mulching of dry organic material help garden plants to keep the direct effect of snow and due. In the next spring to early summer, this mulching gets decomposed and makes the soil more fertile. 

Plant covers

You can't use plant covers with shade-intolerant plants. Check your earlier list of plants and mark the shade-tolerant plants. If these plants are in the bunch, then you can use a wide blanket cover or if they are individuals then use individual garden plants blankets. 

Greenhouse cover 

Poly sheet-made greenhouse can help with shade-intolerant plants. Polysheet greenhouse lowers the intensity of light but doesn't block the light completely. 

Although glass greenhouses are costlier and not easy to install they are helpful if your plants are shade intolerant and you are even having a low intensity of sunlight. 

Shift all such shade-intolerant plants in a glass greenhouse even if sunlight is present at low intensity. 

No irrigation and fertilization in winter

With odd-climate garden plants, you can only irrigate and fertilize them in winter. 

It will be very stressful for these foreign and off-season plants to perform unnecessary fertilization and irrigation. 

Yes, you can fertilize garden plants in mid-fall and irrigate as well at the same period. 

General care for winter garden plants(outdoor plants)

With your seasonal plants, you don't need such treatments and care at the same level. But you can follow simple steps for general care- 

  • If a plant doesn't like shade in summer, don't let it in the shade in winter as well. In absence of sunlight, you can keep them away from other plants' shadows. For this either replace them or transplant them. 
  • Don't irrigate your seasonal garden plants in winter. If it is due in the evening or night then your garden can survive without water or you can irrigate your garden plants in the fall. 
  • Fertilization is not necessarily required in winter but you can fertilize your garden in the fall before starting winter. 
  • Cleaning weeds will help your plants to keep in good condition and help them to perform better.  

Winter care for indoor garden plants 

If your house is not in the shade of trees or any building throughout the winter, you have to care for your plants in different ways but if the house is not in the shade throughout the year, you don't need to change the basic steps of care. 

The following tips will help you care for your indoor garden plants in winter- 

  • If your plants live in the same climate throughout the year, then you should try to provide them same conditions indoors.
  • Plants get change in winter so don't try to keep things the same as in summer otherwise you can affect their nature of growing. 
  • Don't let the inside temperature to less than 12 degrees Celcius. 
  • If plants are in shade for a long time, then shift them to a new place where they can grow in a shadeless atmosphere. 
  • Keep regulating your house exhaust for the healthy growth of plants. 
  • Don't irrigate plants daily. You can reduce irrigation from once a week to once in 10 days. 
  • Fertilization of plants is not necessarily required otherwise you can burn your plants without a reason. 

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