Shelter of conifers for the winter. Spruce care in autumn preparation for winter Sheltering conifers for the winter

When preparing coniferous plants for winter, be sure to carry out moisture-recharging irrigation, protect new plantings from direct sunlight, and protect plants with spherical and conical crowns from breaking by snow. So, what exactly needs to be done in the garden when preparing coniferous plants for winter.

Moisture-recharging irrigation

At the end of leaf fall, water the coniferous plants well at the root (5-8 buckets per plant). Don’t waste time on forest trees and old, time-tested plantings of thujas, pines, spruces: they have developed roots and will take care of themselves. Watering before winter is desirable for all plantings made in the past and current seasons; for varietal specimens and exotics, regardless of the time of planting (there are also very resistant ones among them, but if you are a beginner gardener, it is easier to water everything than to sort it out - there will be no harm from this).

The crown of conifers wakes up early, often when the roots cannot yet provide it with moisture due to frozen soil. Hence, burning of needles is a common problem in the middle zone. Well-moistened soil freezes to a shallower depth, which reduces the risk of spring damage.

Consolidation of new plantings

The crown of a coniferous plant collects a lot of snow. If there is heavy snowfall at above-zero temperatures, such a snow mass may stick to the branches that the seedlings that have not had time to take root will be uprooted. After freezing rain, even small plants, up to a meter tall, fall and tilt. In anticipation of snowfalls, thoroughly secure all plantings of the current year with guy wires to prevent even small movements: because of them, small roots are torn off and the survival period of plants is delayed.

Protecting conifers from burns

Columnar junipers, cypress trees, varieties of thuja, the crowns of which burned in past years, and all varieties of Canadian spruce need to be additionally protected from sunburn with a shelter. Lutrasil and other covering materials are not suitable: solar heat accumulates under them, and this is precisely what we do not need. The purpose of the shelter is to shade the crown and prevent it from heating up. Burlap, a special mesh or even woven polypropylene panels perform this function well. They are placed on the plant and tied with twine (do not pull the branches too tightly!). Do not try to wall up the crown tightly - let the “vents” remain. Large specimens need to be shaded only on the south side.

In the photo: Protecting thuja from sunburn

In the photo: Tui suffering from sunburn

Crown tying

For varieties of thuja and young pines that are resistant to the spring sun and which you do not intend to shade from burns, do not tie the branches tightly so that under the yoke of snow or (God forbid) freezing rain they do not bend or break. In some years, even local forest pines suffer from snowbreaker.

What to do, if...

No precaution provides complete protection from bad weather. Therefore, it is useful to know what to do if:

… a lot of sticky snow fell

Use a pole or board wrapped in soft cloth to knock snow off the branches. Do not shake the trees, do not hit them with all your might: tap them often with small jolts so as not to damage the bark and the branches themselves (in winter they lose their elasticity and break easily).

... it was freezing rain

Using supports and ties, try to give the branches their original position. Do not try to melt the ice on the branches with a hairdryer or warm water - the buds may wake up prematurely from the heat, and a new one will be added to the already existing problem. The ice will melt off on its own with the onset of sunny weather, even if the air temperature is still negative.

In the photo: Icy rain on coniferous plants

... in the spring the needles on the plants turned yellow or discolored

Having noticed this, immediately shade the crown by first spraying it with water if the weather is sunny. Water the affected plant with warm water. If the water spreads without being absorbed, then the soil is still frozen. Then water several times a day in small portions. When the daytime temperature steadily rises to +10°C, treat the crown with Epin, Zircon or HB 101.

What and how to cover coniferous plants in winter?

In the pre-winter time, prepare coniferous trees and shrubs. To avoid breaks from the snow pile, the branches of vertically growing junipers and thujas are carefully tied together. An ordinary twine is suitable for this.

Kraft paper, burlap, and non-woven materials such as agrospan, lutrasil, and spunbond can be used as covering materials. At home, you can even use newspaper and wrapping paper for shading. The only condition is that the material must “breathe”, so films and plastic are unsuitable.

The snow around the plant is trampled or cleared. Now wrap the material around it, completely covering the needles. Fasten the seams with a stapler, leave a gap at the top for breathing (on the shady side, so that the sun's rays do not fall on the needles). There is also a frame method of shelter - a frame is installed around the plant and covered with a cap made of agrospan. The shelter and cap are secured with pegs. You can see the types of frame shelters on our website.

In some frosty and sunny winters, adult, long-planted plants can be shaded with a fine mesh on the sunny side.

When is the cover removed?

Removing the cover requires great care and compliance with several conditions. Firstly, it is necessary that the ground thaws no less than the depth of a bayonet and the root system of the plant begins to work. This happens around the end of April.

Secondly, the cover is removed in cloudy weather so that sudden changes in illumination and direct rays do not cause shock to the needles. It is ideal if you have studied the weather forecast in advance and opened the plants ahead of a cloudy period of 4-7 days. Then your coniferous pets will be able to gradually adapt to the light regime and painlessly move from hibernation to growth.

Lovers of coniferous plantings living in central Russia dream of evergreen decoration of their home plot. Despite the frost resistance of conifers, young seedlings need protection for the winter period. How we cover conifers for the winter and other methods of protection from ice and snow will be discussed in this article.

Why cover winter-hardy crops?

Almost all coniferous plantings, from trees to low-growing shrubs, are distinguished by their unpretentiousness and resistance to frost. Both thuja and spruce attract the attention of gardeners not only with their beautiful appearance, but also with their resistance to diseases and pests, and also exude a wonderful pine aroma. In addition, they are excellent antiseptics.

Out of love for the decorative appearance of the plant, it is planted along alleys, near administrative buildings, as well as in parks and gardens. But, despite such positive characteristics, coniferous plants need shelter for the winter. Namely, young seedlings that are not yet 3-4 years old are considered weak and need protection. Here are two aspects that adversely affect evergreen crops:

1. strong frosty wind;
2. spring sun rays reflected from the snow.

Why wind and sunlight? The fact is that the winter wind causes severe dryness of the branches, and from a lack of moisture they freeze, break off and die. If you have observed a beautiful spruce with a withered shoot and yellowed needles, then know that this was due to a cold and strong wind. While tree needles can withstand severe frost, they do not like the wind.

Everyone knows that the thaw at the end of February and March is characterized by the bright sun, the rays of which are reflected on the white snow. At this time, sap flow has not yet begun, and the bushes are still weak and vulnerable. Then the pine needles and green thuja paws under bright light can get sunburned. Therefore, there is a need to cover the crop for the winter, not to mention the branches breaking under the weight of the adhering snow.

Protection for medium-height shrubs

To cover coniferous bushes that have not yet reached 3 years of age for the winter, we first bend the branches to the trunk of the tree. To do this, take a string, preferably green or the color of the trunk, and, without pressing too much, lightly wrap it with a cord so that the legs of the trunks do not stick out. After this, we take non-woven material or spunbond and determine the size of the future bag. Then we secure the seam with a stapler.

Today, manufacturers offer ready-made agrotex bags of various sizes. Spruce and pine need autumn shelter only in the first year of life.

How to cover bushes and young trees of medium height so as not to damage the crown and preserve the integrity of the crop as much as possible? For this purpose, a wooden frame is constructed from bars of medium thickness.

Advice! “You can make a frame from an elastic plastic mesh, which is very convenient because of its flexibility.”

It is better not to install an iron or wire frame, since the metal conducts cold and can cause frostbite to the branches.

After preparing the walls of the frame, we wrap it with covering material. It is better not to use polyethylene for these purposes, as it collects moisture. The moisture accumulated under the film freezes during the winter cold and does not contribute to thermal insulation or leads to rotting and mold. In addition, polyethylene may not withstand low temperatures and burst, allowing snow and cold wind to penetrate. To protect coniferous plantations for the winter, it is better to use:

• burlap;
• spunbond;
• kraft paper;
• agrofibre;
• lutrasin;
• agrospan.

Any of the listed materials, except kraft paper, can be stapled to a wooden frame. You can wrap the insulation around the mesh, connecting the ends into a single seam.

Any agrofibre should be of medium thickness for air to enter (sometimes a small gap is left or the top is not secured), but not torn from strong gusts of wind. After winter, shelters need to be removed at the beginning of April or at the end of March, when it gets warmer and sap flow begins. Moderate melting of snow and air temperature close to 0 °C will tell you when to open the insulation.

If your pets have reached 4 years of age, and you did not shelter them, but only tied them with twine, then we perform the following shenanigans. At the end of February, on the south side of the garden we install an awning from any available covering material. Our goal is to create a shade curtain so that the conifers do not get sunburned from the blinding sun.

Protection for low growing bushes

If your juniper or cedar is too young, or you are a fan of low-growing crops, then the amount of insulation work is significantly reduced. It is enough to stock up on spruce branches in the forest and cover them with seedlings in the form of cone-shaped houses. Thrifty owners prefer to place plastic containers on top of spruce branches for reliable fixation and maintaining temperature conditions.

Industrial business satisfies any demand and therefore the Moscow region is provided with covering material for planting in full. It is sold in the form of cone-shaped bags with a tightening rope at the bottom. To prevent the ends of the conifer paws from turning yellow, it is enough to use special bags.

Agronomist advice! “For young conifers with a weak root system, it is necessary to sprinkle the area at the roots with sawdust or mulch before covering for the winter.”

Additional care

Despite the winter hardiness and unpretentiousness of the crop, mineral fertilizing will not harm. Especially for freshly planted crops in the fall, so that they can take root before spring. The plant must become stronger and be resistant to disease. What to feed your pets ahead of the cold weather?

Let us describe several steps leading to successful acclimatization and overwintering:

1. We water in the fall 50–60 cm deep, not only near the root, but also within the radius of the root system. In case of heavy autumn rains, the procedure is canceled;
2. trunk mulching with organic matter (needles, pine bark, sawdust, spruce branches, hay, etc.) is poured in 1–2 layers, no thicker, so that rodents do not build a nest;
3. feeding with vermicompost and compost will support the vitality of conifers, as well as adding magnesium with dolomite flour;
4. nitrogen in large quantities and manure can harm plantings;
5. In spring, at temperatures above +10 °C, it is recommended to treat with biostimulants: Epin, HB 101, Zircon. Sometimes it is enough to spray the crown with warm water and hide it from the sun.

It is much more advisable to take care of conifers than to restore them as a result of neglect.

Coniferous plants planted this year do not have time to develop powerful rhizomes during the season and become strong enough to survive in harsh winter conditions. Young plantings need protection created in various ways using factory-made or home-made structures.

The optimal time for covering plants is dry weather that sets in with the arrival of stable cold weather. It is recommended to place protective materials on frames that ensure the integrity of the branches and optimal ventilation.

We purchase ready-made shelters.

Purchased structures are ready-made kits that are easy to install and do not require additional accessories. Among the many options, you can always choose shelters that are suitable in shape and size.

The frames of these products are made of polymer or metal tubes, bamboo rods or fine mesh. Non-woven fabrics are used as protective material, allowing air to pass through and maintaining a dry atmosphere inside the shelter, for example, Snapbond or Agrospan.

We cover the homemade frame with purchased material.
Another way to organize a winter shelter is to separately purchase the required amount of non-woven material, which allows you to save about half the money. In this case, the base for securing the canvas is built with your own hands from thick wire. Homemade arcs are installed crosswise over the plant.

The synthetic fabric is stretched over the frame and pinned with wire pins.

We use wooden supports and burlap

To make a simple frame, you will need four pegs that are twice the height of the coniferous plant being covered. The ends of the wooden slats are knocked down with a nail and racks resembling a compass are installed in place. It is better to stick stakes into the ground in advance, without waiting for it to freeze.

With the onset of stable night frosts, the wooden base is covered with burlap, fixing the fabric with bent wire pins or stones.

We collect spruce spruce branches

Spruce branches serve as an excellent winter shelter, which additionally protects plants from rodents. The air layer created under the thorny branches is well ventilated and less subject to temperature changes. Spruce branches are harvested exclusively from healthy trees; you cannot use infected needles and transfer diseases to young seedlings.

Long spruce or pine legs are perfect for shelter - they are folded over the plant in the form of a hut, tied at the top with twine. But the short shoots remaining after the formative pruning of mature trees are also used. First, wire arcs are installed on top of the bush. Then the frame is covered with cut branches.

The result is an ideal shelter that saves the coniferous plant from the ice crust in winter.

Another advantage of spruce branches is that they do not rot and do not contribute to the proliferation of destructive microorganisms.

We protect the root system.
The trunk circles of coniferous seedlings are mulched with some kind of organic matter, spreading the material in a loose layer at least 5 cm thick. A mixture of soil and leaves is well suited for covering the roots. Left under the bush in the spring, it rots and serves as additional feeding.

The coniferous plants remaining in the containers are dug into the ground for the winter or a blanket of sawdust is placed near them.

The ground part of the seedlings is protected by any of the available methods.

Each of the structures considered begins to be ventilated when the spring rays of the sun melt the snow around it. First, the northern side is opened slightly, and after the soil thaws, the protective material is completely removed.
Winter shelter for young coniferous plants is one of the means to increase the winter hardiness of plantings. It should not be taken as the only method that guarantees a safe winter. An experienced gardener is always thoughtful about preparing plants, paying attention to planting, watering and fertilizing.

Not a single area is complete without coniferous crops. They are the ones who give a picturesque appearance to the area in winter, when all the deciduous trees are bare and the flower beds are empty. There are so many varieties and types of coniferous crops that you can create entire compositions, the decorative value of which will be high in any season. But there is one caveat: not all coniferous crops withstand winter equally. If the seedlings were brought from Europe, where the climate is much milder than Russian and even Ukrainian, there is a possibility of severe damage to the crown and freezing of the roots. Let’s take a closer look at how to avoid this.

You can reduce the likelihood of winter troubles to zero already at the stage of purchasing seedlings. If you purchase thujas and junipers from domestic nurseries, where they grew for several years in the same climatic conditions as in your area, then problems with winter hardiness will disappear. Weak crops freeze out already in the first year after planting in the nursery, so they simply do not reach the shelves.

But more often we purchase planting material at the market, where it is impossible to check whether the seller provided accurate information about the growing conditions of the seedlings. And even if all the plants were grown in the local climate, there is no guarantee that they were not overfed with nitrogen fertilizers to accelerate growth. And excess nitrogen significantly reduces the immunity of crops and leads to freezing.

Therefore, the owners themselves must take care of the conifers, preparing them for hibernation at the end of autumn.

In small areas, different types of dwarf pine coexist perfectly, which stands out for its winter hardiness and ability to withstand snow loads

Among the crops that are more damaged than others in winter, the leaders are arborvitae, firs (except Siberian and Wicha), metasequoias, cypresses and cypress trees. In areas with a harsh climate, it is better not to plant these crops or be prepared for the fact that they will have to be protected from frost every winter.

The list of the most unpretentious coniferous plants includes:

• Spruce (except Eastern and Brewer);
• Cedars;
• Larch (except Western);
• Pines (except Thunberg);
• Junipers (except Turkestan and Zeravshan);
• Hemlock;
• Western thuja.

The remaining varieties need to be selected taking into account the duration and severity of your winters.

Rules for preparing plants for wintering

Autumn water-recharging irrigation

Despite sub-zero temperatures, life processes in coniferous crops do not stop, but only slow down. Therefore, trees and shrubs must be prepared for winter taking this circumstance into account.

Before the onset of the first frost (around the end of November), water the conifers one last time. For each crop up to a meter, pour 2 buckets of water, and above a meter - from 3 to 5. This way you will provide the plants with a supply of moisture for the pre-spring period. At the end of February, when the sun begins to get hot, the crown of conifers comes to life and requires nutrition and moisture from the roots. And if there is not enough of it in the soil, then frost binds the soil to a greater depth. The roots cannot take water, so the needles become dry and are easily burned by scorching rays.

Watering is especially necessary:

• one-year and two-year-old seedlings that have not developed a strong root system;
• rare breeds of conifers with poor winter hardiness;
• plants whose crowns were shaped and trimmed this season.

If there are coniferous trees on the site, grown using the bonsai technique or with topiary cutting, they require thorough shelter from the snow

Phosphorus-potassium fertilizers

In order for the young branches of conifers to ripen by the beginning of winter, you need to properly feed the plants. Starting in August, eliminate all fertilizers that contain nitrogen. It provokes rapid growth of green mass, and this will greatly weaken the immune system. It is useful to add a mixture of potassium and phosphorus to the soil in September. This will speed up the lignification of the branches and strengthen the root system.

Mulching young plants

A necessary condition for healthy wintering for rare and non-winter-hardy varieties of conifers is mulching. The ideal mulch option is tree bark. It is large, allows oxygen to flow to the roots and, when the temperature rises, does not prevent excess vapors from escaping from the ground. With this mulching, the plants will never dry out, as is the case with sawdust.

Mature conifers or those purchased at a local nursery do not need to be sprinkled with mulch. They can cope with winter without shelter.

Troubles during the winter months

If you took into account the previous tips, then your pets will feel quite comfortable in winter, but the care does not end there. Winter weather brings many surprises, and you need to deal with them in time.

First surprise: heavy snow

Sometimes there are heavy snowfalls in winter. Wet snow settles heavily on the conifers, causing skeletal branches to break and thin ones to break off. If your pet is covered with a sticky and wet snow cap, do not try to shake it off by tilting the branches or shaking the trunk. At this time, the bark and branches are so fragile that you will provoke cracking. You need to wrap the end of the board with a soft cloth and pry it over each branch of an adult tree, gently swinging it up and down. Brush off all branches in the access zone of your growth with a stiff brush or broom, moving from the tips to the trunk.

The crown of spherical and columnar varieties can be protected by tying it with twine. Just do not pinch the branches so as not to disrupt the circulation of juices. The twine should press the crown tightly against the trunk, but not squeeze.

The crown, tied with twine, becomes compact and dense, preventing snow from getting into the middle, which helps to survive the winter without breaking.

Surprise two: freezing rain

With the contrast between day and night temperatures, tree branches can become covered with an ice crust. It has enough weight, tilting its paws and threatening the safety of the plant. You won’t be able to shake off such beauty, as it sticks tightly to the needles. In this case, the supports that you used in the summer to support fruit trees will come to the rescue. Place them under any branches that have bent too low to prevent them from breaking. All that remains is to wait for a sunny day for the ice to slide under the rays on its own.

Surprise three: gusty wind

Some areas experience squally winds in winter. It is not dangerous for low-growing, dwarf trees or creeping shrubs, but vertical thujas, tall cedars or spruce trees can easily be uprooted (especially on light sandy loam soils).

If weather forecasters have announced a storm warning, play it safe by putting up guy ropes. They come in two types: fixed to stakes and anchor type.

The essence of the first option is that thick stakes are driven into the ground on four sides near the tree, the height of which is more than half the height of the trunk. A twine is pulled from each support to the trunk. It is not tied on bare bark, but the trunk is first wrapped with roofing material or a wooden block is placed at the place of tying. True, it will not always be possible to drive stakes into frozen ground in winter, so conifers are strengthened in this way in the fall, especially recently transplanted large ones.

With the help of an anchor stretch, you can not only protect the tree from gusts of wind, but make it grow strictly vertically

The second type - anchor - involves the installation of steel guy wires, which are attached to the tree at one end and pulled onto the anchors at the other. Anchors should be located outside the root system. To protect the trunk from steel, you need to wrap the tree with thick burlap, and use wooden pads on top of it.

Surprise four: February sun

Even the most resistant conifers by the end of winter run the risk of freezing or, conversely, getting burned. At this time, the weather is unstable, and often the sun shines so brightly for days that it provokes an early awakening of the roots. They begin to actively feed the crown, expecting immediate warmth, and then the so-called return frosts can appear. You cannot stop the flow of sap, but you can cover the crown with a thick non-woven material, like lutrasil, or at least put canvas potato bags on the young seedlings.

To prevent the ground from thawing quickly, mulch it with sawdust. Their white color will reflect the sun's rays, and the roots will not awaken as quickly. But when stable heat sets in, the sawdust must be removed immediately so that the plant does not dry out.

Without covering with lutrasil or other non-woven material, the crown of many rare conifers may not withstand the test of severe frosts

Another danger lies in the sun's rays, which burn tender young needles. Therefore, at the end of winter, all annual seedlings and exotic conifers are covered from the south with shields or the crown is completely wrapped in burlap.

It is not advisable to protect conifers from the sun with non-woven material, as it accumulates heat and can increase the drying out of the needles.

To protect from the February sun, you can use burlap or agrofibre, which creates soft twilight inside the shelter and prevents drying out of the needles

Don't worry if some plants' needles turn yellow in winter. This is how junipers and hemlocks react to cold. The color will return in spring.

If you carried out all the security measures on time, the conifers will quickly recover from hibernation and will delight you with their decorative properties.