Hedging and hedges – winter maintenance

Whether or not the plants in your garden will come through the winter depends to a large extent on the soil you have – waterlogged soil that freezes will kill a hedge even if the day temperatures remain high. Another important factor is the sitting of less hardy hedge shrubs, because periods of freezing followed by thawing can cause leaves and green stems to freeze – the frozen sap cells in a then expand when they thaw out, which destroys the cells and damages, or even kills, the plant. Setting tender plants (roses for example) between hardier ones like blackthorn can help keep them safe.

Frosts of short duration should cause no damage, but if the temperature looks likely to drop below freezing for a whole night then it is advisable to protect less hardy plants in a new hedge. Damage is more likely on yellow-leaved or variegated plants and those which have put out new foliage in autumn or early spring. You can do this by simply throwing old sheets over the hedge and anchoring them down on both sides with pebbles – for one night, this will normally act as enough of a frost barrier to protect a hedge, but for longer freezes you need to think about winds as well as frost because if the ground freezes, or if there is strong wind, the soil around the base of the plant may move or expand, exposing roots. A thick mulch of bark or straw will protect the root area from cold, while the top of a hedge that is exposed to continuous frost or snow can be covered with horticultural fleece.

While a covering of snow looks very pretty in the garden, it can damage plants by its weight, so brush it off foliage before the stems become distorted or broken, never shake a plant to remove snow as this will cause even more damage.

Hedge gardening snow photograph by Brian Burke used under a creative commons attribution licence

 

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