Feature: How to protect landscape plants for the winter

Protect landscape plants for the winter

Theresa

Ziolkowski

Neil

Atzinger

For larger plants, attach burlap to posts set at 2 to 3 feet from the plant. This provides both wind and deer protection.

Winters in Michigan are a time for gardeners to rest from the busyness of the growing season and dream of the coming year. Sitting back while gray skies linger, one longingly contemplates new projects, starts seeds indoors, and fusses over houseplants. But before gardeners can finally put their feet up, they must come to grips with how much to protect new and existing plant material from the ravages of hungry deer, blowing wind, and damaging ice.

Deer

How big is the deer population in your area? Michigan gardens that never experience deer during the growing season may see arborvitaes, yews, and rhododendrons ravaged by deer during the winter. Content with nibbling in the woods and hedgerows in the warmer months, deer become hungry from lack of tender fodder and brazenly move into populated areas in the cold weather.

If deer are rampant year-round, it is best to help prevent losses and plant species known to be deer resistant. The Michigan State University Extension has compiled a list of deer-resistant plants that is worth reviewing when making your selections. Many beautiful plants are available on this list, and with some ingenuity, a gardener can have a captivating

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Right: To protect them from deer damage, these rhododendrons are carefully wrapped with twine, protecting next spring’s buds from breaking off. Then they are neatly wrapped with burlap and another length of twine.

T-posts are quick to set and are stout when fishing line is set tight. These barriers are invisible to deer. Deer are spooked when they touch the line.

Deer netting can be purchased locally and attached to posts for added protection. In this instance, a hedge of mature arborvitae welcomes visitors to a home. Visually obscuring the hedge is not an option. Netting leaves the hedge visible yet creates a solid deer barrier.

Deer-resistant alternatives

Traditional landscape plant Arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis)

Deer-resistant alternative

‘Green Giant’ arborvitae (Thuja x ‘Green Giant’) or Canadian hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) Yew (Taxus) Boxwood (Buxus sempervirens) Panicle hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata) Doublefile viburnum (Viburnum plicatum f. tomentosum ‘Mariesii’) Burning bush Bottlebrush buckeye (Aesculus parviflora) Rhododendron Japanese pieris (Pieris japonica) Rose Weigela Rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus) Butterfly bush (Buddleia davidii) Ninebark (Physocarpus) Sweetshrub (Calycanthus)

PHOTOGRAPHS BY THERESA ZIOLKOWSKI AND NEIL ATZINGER

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garden that deer avoid. Remember that no plant is deer-proof; even plants listed as deerresistant will be nibbled on by deer looking to sample newly planted curiosities. Note that for newly planted deer-resistant gardens, installing barriers may still be a good idea and necessary for the first winter.

See the accompanying chart “Deer-resistant alternatives” for some planting ideas.

For gardens that deer only invade during winter, temporary deterrents and barriers can protect tasty plants. One popular method for smaller plants is to use a covering burlap. This doubles as a wind screen for sensitive or exposed evergreens. Care must be taken not to dislodge flower buds that are set for next spring when wrapping and unwrapping.

For larger plantings, burlap attached to posts set at 2 to 3 feet from the plant provides both wind and deer protection. A long arborvitae or hemlock hedge would benefit from such a screen. In some cases, larger (or individual) plants can be wrapped, especially when plants are spaced far enough that a burlap screen would overly dominate a landscape.

Another surprisingly effective deer barrier is to use rows of fishing line. Install large T-posts 10 feet apart and tightly string 10- to 15-pound fishing line across the posts. Attach one line 18 inches from the ground, another about chest high, and a third across the top. Deer do not see the line and are startled when they bump into it, turning away. Deer manage to navigate visible barriers but are not able to figure out this invisible line. This is the least obstructive visual barrier of the available choices. Use this method for plants grown to be seen during the winter. If this technique is used across larger areas, ensure that fishing line is visible for humans by attaching a plastic ribbon every 10 feet.

Over young shrubs, specialized deer netting can be used in lieu of fishing line. Simply drape the netting over the plant. Be aware that this netting can be challenging to remove in the spring and is not easily re-used the following season. The netting, while almost invisible, tangles easily and sticks to buds and branches. If not removed before bud break, it can damage young foliage during the removal process. Another option is to employ the fishing-line method: posts can be used to set the netting at a distance from the plant.

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This large rhododendron is prepared for winter winds by spraying it with a coating of anti-desiccant. During a harsh winter, anti-desiccants are essential for broadleaved evergreens.

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Windburn and drought

Windburn and drought must also be considered before the gardener can hibernate. Windburn affects broadleaved evergreens (rhododendrons, boxwoods, etc.) as well as flatneedled evergreens (cedars, arborvitae, etc.). Anti-desiccants applied late in the fall can help plants retain moisture through a long winter. Before applying, gardeners should make sure evergreens have been thoroughly watered late into the fall if rainfall has been scant. Request that sprinkler services leave systems running until a freeze is in the forecast. After ensuring that the plant is properly watered, spray antidesiccant thoroughly over the entire plant until runoff, including the undersides of leaves. It is satisfying to see this natural resin harden as it dries, protecting the plant.

Winter ice storms and heavy snow can be the proverbial straw that figuratively and literally breaks a plant’s back. Homes with arborvitae or juniper hedges are familiar with treks into the snow to gently shake the weight from branches with long-handled brooms.

Before the snow flies this winter, give the neighbors less to laugh about and try tying the branches together. Use tree tie webbing to make a loose hoop around all the main vertical branches to keep them from splaying out. If the whole tree tends to flop over, install three stakes surrounding the tree to keep it upright. Again, be sure to use tree tie webbing for such a task. This webbing is a soft, flexible and woven material that does much less damage to plants than plastic or sisal twine.

With these late fall tasks complete, both you and your garden are more likely to have a happier spring.

Theresa Ziolkowski is a horticulture graduate from Virginia Tech and is a Head Gardener at Atzinger Gardens. Atzinger Gardens creates and tends gardens around the Ann Arbor and Plymouth areas. Visit AtzingerGardens. com or call 734-272-7321 for monthly maintenance or to design and complete a new garden.