Is Winter Bad For Your Plants?

The temperatures drop in double digits to a single one, and not too long; the colder weather makes its way to replace the warmer days. Oh, my word, and once the freezing temperatures get hold, it is not only us that suffer, but many plants freeze as well.

Not only do you love warmer temperatures, but your plants feel the same way. They prefer the warm weather and sprinkles of rain and detest the shiver in the cold winds. So from your potted plants on the patio to your sensitive plants in the garden, wishes the cold spell away.

As you know, your outdoor plants thrive in early spring to fall, but once the extreme cold moves in, they wish, like you, it is summer. So, how bad is the winter weather for your plants? Read on as you learn how the cold can affect plants.

How Do The Cold Weather Affect Plants?

Here at Plantly, we get many questions about how cold temperatures can affect your plants. For example, many gardeners are concerned about how much cold temperatures from frost and freezing temperatures can kill plant growth.

The answer is not short, as it can depend on different things. But we will try to keep it as straightforward as possible.

• The first thing that affects plants is the climate; if you live without freezing temperatures, count yourself lucky. In your case, the heat is more of a concern than colder weather.

• The second thing is that all plants differ as one can be cold winter tolerant and others not. So, it helps to check the hardiness zones to ensure you grow the right plants in the garden for your winter weather.

• Lastly, timing is also an essential factor in the hardiness of your plant. Some plants can withstand extremely cold temperatures for months, while others can only do this for a few hours. Temperature fluctuations can also cause problems. Hence, you can see buds opening one spring day with frost and freezing temperatures the next day.

All these impacts your plant’s health and how much cold your plant can take. So, providing a definite answer is not easy.

What Damage Do Frost And Freezing Temperatures do to Plants?

Unexpected temperature drops can cause some dormant plants to die from the cold. Plants die, especially when blooms start early. While crops are hardier with cold tolerance, it can still affect plants in different ways:

• When you get frost damage, the water inside the plant cells expands, destroying your plant inside and out. Plants start to wither even after hard frosts are done. You find in severe cases; the damage is worse in young plants. The reason is that seedlings are not yet strong enough to support these expansions in the cell tissues.

• Now the opposite can happen with water freezing on the outside in colder months, especially in the surrounding soil. Hence, it interferes with your plant’s water supply.

• Frost damage also decreases your plant’s enzyme activity and disrupts the nutrients it needs. The reason is that plants secrete enzymes to help them digest materials from the soil. In turn, this leads to stunted growth and can result in death.

• Lastly, whether you have shrubs or trees, the low temperatures change the cellular membrane fluidity. It is how water flows through the cell tissues to provide the overall health of plants. The cellular membrane ensures that the plant cells respond to a mild winter’s change and remain a dynamic structure that helps with new growth.

For this reason, a few things can help protect plants from the cold winter. So, from fall to winter, plants go dormant to prepare the plant tissues against harsh winters, water, nutrient shortage, and dry weather.

At this time, they use no energy to present new growth and conserve that energy for spring and summer. Yet, the roots remain developing and thrive underground.

First, Understand Which USDA Hardiness Zone You Live

Knowing which hardiness zone you live in will show you how well you will grow plants in your region. The hardiness zones range from very hardy plants that grow in temperatures of -4°F through to tropical climates exceeding 59°F

So, you have a map divided into sections from the USA to Canada comprising 13 zones. It is based on the average annual winter temperatures. Each zone, on average, is 10° warmer or colder in winter than the next zone.

Zone 1 is the coldest, while Zone 13 has a lot of heat throughout the year. Still, the hardiness of your plants is measured by how well they can withstand the winter months. Thus if your plant can withstand a considerable amount of cold weather will survive in Zone 5 but not Zone 4 as it is too cold.

For this reason, the next time you invest in plants at a nursery or online, you can find these maps available to advise if that plant can grow as a perennial or annual outdoors.

The Best Practices to Protect Plants From Cold Temperatures

When it comes to protecting plants like your sensitive plants from the cold winter, there are some things you can do. 

Hence, we will touch on some essential preventative measures when growing plants. When that weather man/woman predicts cold spells, give your seeds, shrubs, to woody plants some added protection.

It helps to cover your plants with some covering using burlap, sheets, horticultural fleece, and more. The second layer protects the plants from cold damage, but when it heats up, please remove the wrap in the garden to provide enough air circulation and remove moisture.

You can move potted plants indoors but be careful not to place them in a place with central heating as the heat can cause more damage than good. Instead, preferably place them in cooler temperatures like the garage.

For trees, you can add a layer of mulch to protect the roots and wrap some burlap around the trunk. These are only a few preventative measures to ensure your plants do not suffer from a cold snap caused by cold air and the winter sun.

How Do You Save Frost-Damaged Plants

The good news is that you can save your plants early enough on some occasions, from light frost in mild winters to hard frost in early spring. So, do not give up on nursing your plants back to health.

When you notice the stems to leaves are damaged, you can prune them back, but it is not always such a good idea. The problem is that when another cold chill moves through, it has no protection against the frost.

Hence, we recommend if you prune them in the winter, it helps to move them to a sheltered location. Still, it is best to wait until early spring after the last frost has passed and you notice new growth.

Doing this allows you to see where the dead foliage is and what stems are healthy and growing, not to remove them. Then water and fertilize your plant from spring to summer to help it recover from the cold damage.

For trees with cracked bark that has not healed, then it is time to get in a helping hand. You will need to remove the bark and use a knife to smooth the edges of the bark to callous and start recovery.

Frost-Resistant Plants To Grow

Luckily there are quite a few plants you can grow with hardiness against low temperatures and freezing weather. Here are some great plants to add to your garden this season.

Sweet Peas

The annual flower looks fabulous in a cutting garden, woodland, or border garden, and it twines on a trellis to an arch. You find them in different colors, from pastels and purples to a ritzy magenta.

The dainty blossoms have a great fragrance, and they can produce many blooms. The secret to growing sweet peas is to sow them early as they are hardy in zones seven and colder. You can plant them in late winter or early spring when the soil temperatures rise.

Forget-Me-Nots

Now, if you want a flower that can withstand those fall-to-cold temperatures, the woodland forget-me-not is not your typical plant. Yet, the plant is not often affected by insects or cold and blooms in mid to late spring. You can grow them in zones three to eight without any problems.

The best part is they thrive in well-drained soil in direct sunlight to give your garden a fantastic color.

Hostas

The plantain lily is a shade-loving plant with dark green to blue foliage from Japan. It is a low-maintenance plant that provides the garden with some ground cover. When it blooms, you see purple flowers, but you can find them in lilac and pink.

Another great thing is the plant can tolerate winter weather with some protection. You can prune them back in the fall when the leaves turn yellow or notice the leaves fall. Also, refrain from fertilizing as the growing season ends.

Clear away all debris at ground level and spread some mulch around your plant before the first frost.

Also, give them water even after a hard freeze, as it provides added protection for your plant.

Rose Mallow

The rose mallow you can grow in the USDA zones five to ten in full sun for the best blooms. Still, they grow well in partial shade and thrive in sandy yet moist soil on the acidic side. You can enrich the soil with compost or other organic materials.

Siberian Cypress

The Siberian Cypress is cold and hardy in zones three in the winter months. You can grow them in different soils, but they need good drainage. It can tolerate dry soil when established. For winter, you can provide the root system with mulch for protection to prevent cold snaps.

Fastigiata’ Spruce

You can find different species of spruce in the Fastigiata,’ and they grow up to 15 feet tall with a wide spread of four feet. The low canopy has a clearance of three feet from the ground, and it is best to plant them away from power lines. It grows at a slow rate and lives very long.

So, invest in this species if you need a cold, hardy tree to thrive in zones three to eight.

Frost-Resistant Vegetables You Can Grow

Well, if you prefer growing plants providing you with food, these options are sure to inspire you as they can withstand the cold.

Cabbages and Kale

When you grow cabbage or kale, the frost enhances the flavor. Cabbage and kale are the hardest vegetables to grow if you have cold winters with a hard frost.

Collards

Yes, collards are another frost-resistant veg for planting in the winter garden. Once you prepare this veg, your kale will step aside. The veg has large green leaves with a tough stem you need to remove before eating.

Broccoli

Who does not know broccoli with some delicious 😋 cheese sauce or eaten in salads? Yes, even broccoli is frost resistant to grow in winter months.

Final Thought

As you can see, while winter months can damage plants, you can take some preventive measures, as seen above. So, if you need first-aid accessories for your plants this winter, start with us at Plantly. So keep you and your plants warm as the year slowly starts coming to an end.