Getting Your Plants Ready For Winter!

Fall is a great time to plant shrubs and trees in most locations. Once your plantings have been installed in your landscape, its best to spread a little mulch around all new plantings. Mulch helps the root structure of the plant retain moisture during warm months and protects the plants roots from cold temperatures during winter.

When installing mulch on existing plants that have been installed for one year or longer, it is best to first cleanup your property of fall trimming and leaf cleanup. Usually we recommend trimming all of your shrubs and trees after the first or second frost of the fall season. After that your leaves on large trees will begin to fall. Once they have finished falling and have been mulched or removed from your property, its time to spread a good layer of mulch into all of your planting beds. We recommend a layer of 4" thick hardwood mulch. Some gardeners prefer dyed mulch, pine mulch, or other types of mulch, they are all fine and based on preference and which types are available in your local area. In southern states, some customers prefer pine needles which are also fine to use especially if your plantings prefer acidic soil.

In NC, I usually mulch my property in mid December or early January here in NC. Our leaves are usually finished falling by December 15 and I prefer to have the yard looking pretty for the Holidays. If I run out of time in December, I will wait until after the holidays and mulch all of my plants in January. It is very important to finish your mulching before spring especially if you have hosta, bulbs, or other winter hidden plants. Spring plantings that popup as the weather warms may burn if mulch is installed after they have sprouted through the soil.  

No matter where you live you will not go wrong if you mulch all of your planting beds after the leaves have fallen and are cleaned up. New plantings will need mulch as soon as they are planted any time of year. You may mulch right over this layer as an additional layer to help keep these babies warm. 

Below is a link to our blog related to trimming shrubs and trees:

https://lotsofplants.com/blogs/blog/a-bit-about-trimming-your-shrubs-and-trees