What Do I Need to Do to Get My Garden Ready for Winter?

Here in Ontario, winter has a way of sneaking up on you. A couple of sunny, pleasant fall afternoons can lull you into thinking there is plenty of time to do fall gardening chores in preparation for winter. Then, one cloudy, damp weekend turns into three or four, and – before you know it – winter has arrived. Before it’s too late to make sure your landscape is ready for winter’s worst, put us to work on your property so it makes a healthy recovery in the spring.

Perennial Beds

It’s a good practice to remove dead stalks and foliage and any diseased or unhealthy looking foliage before winter. That reduces the chances of insects and diseases overwintering in your garden, only to emerge in spring.

Trees and Shrubs

It’s best to winterize your evergreen trees, especially broadleaf evergreens. We may apply straw around your rhododendrons and tent them with stakes and burlap, and it’s good to winterize your roses with a liberal application of soil around the base. See below.

Rose Gardens

Rose bushes need a little extra TLC to make it through the Ontario winter. If you have rose bushes in your garden, hopefully you stopped feeding and pruning them in mid August. Before the first hard freeze of winter, we’ll remove old mulch, which can sometimes have disease spores or insect eggs, from under your rose bushes. A layer of new soil around the base of each plant, as with other plants, will regulate temperatures better than old mulch. After the ground freezes, additional soil in a six to twelve inch mound around the canes that arise from the crown of the plant should be enough to maintain even soil temperature around the base of your rose plants.

Irrigation Systems

If you have a home irrigation system, well, it should have been closed for the season a few months ago. Freezing weather can wreak havoc on irrigation pipes and equipment that has not been thoroughly drained of water. If this chore is not done, you will probably be paying for expensive irrigation repairs next spring.

Winter is creeping up fast, but it’s not too late to get some of your winterization jobs done. Call Lawrence Park Complete Garden Care to get your garden ready for winter. We have the experience to do the tough jobs and to get your property ready in a flash. Spending money now to prepare your garden for winter means your yard will look better in the spring, and you won’t be paying later to replace and repair the results of winter damage.

Contact us today to request a consultation!