Covering Plants

Cover Up: Fearless Gardener Bonnie Blodgett recommends how - and when - to cover your plant-life this season.


Evergreens

Cover: Use burlap fence or wrap, not plastic. Keep the top of the plant exposed, and avoid wrapping it too tightly. Or, use an anti-desiccating spray to create an invisible synthetic covering. A mound of pine boughs can insulate roots of recent plantings in case of inadequate snowfall.

Uncover: In early April or whenever plant is able to absorb moisture after the ground has thawed.

Bulbs

Cover: Apply 6 inches of shredded leaves (large leaves may mat and block moisture), sawdust, shredded bark, or straw. Use pre-sprouted bales of straw to prevent re-seeding (avoid using hay, which is brittle and messy).

Uncover: When soil begins to thaw and shoots poke above the ground so that the foliage can absorb sunlight. Timing depends on blooming—early, mid-spring, or late spring—and hardiness.

Perennials

Cover: Use 4 to 8 inches of mulch, depending on hardiness and newness.

Uncover: When soil warms enough to allow leaf growth to appear above the surface. Keep plants that are slow to emerge or marginally hardy (rated to Zone 5) covered until danger of a hard frost has passed.

Woody trees and shrubs

Cover: Plants that drop their leaves but keep their stems, (including leaf and flower buds) in winter benefit from root insulation, especially if they’re new, marginally hardy (Zone 5), or if snow cover is meager. Use straw, leaves, shredded bark, or pine, but don’t allow mulch to touch the trunk of trees. Also protect upper parts of woody plants susceptible to dieback (e.g., Japanese maples).

Uncover: Any time after danger of a hard frost has passed.

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