Home Improvement Warning: Protect Your Plants from Your Projects

Exterior maintenance, whether that means repainting your home, siding, roofing or installing shutters or window boxes, can all take a toll on your plants. Depending on the project planned, your gardens will suffer if you do not take some of the following precautions.

Protect Plants from Physical Harm
Roofing and siding projects can take several days to complete, and can virtually wipe out a spring and summer of hard work, care and attention. The physical damage to the leaves, flowers and branches can destroy plants. There are a couple ways to avoid excessive damage.

- Wood Frame. Build a wood frame that can be placed over a section of your garden at a time. Nail wood strips together to make an open frame. Then lay a piece of plywood over the top to save plants from the brunt of falling heavy objects.

- Prune. Taking extra time pruning and clearing an area can make the difference in whether or not you will have a garden to go along with your latest home improvement project. It is better to prune and make room for ladders and scaffolding than to just randomly break branches while working. If pruning is not an option, simply tie back plants to make room for equipment. Sturdy bushes can be pulled slightly out of the way by wrapping a rope around them, pulling and then attaching the rope to a nearby tree or other sturdy object.

Protect Plants from Chemical Damage
Paint is not healthy for plants, but neither is covering your gardens with a drop cloth. On even moderately warm days, the plastic will bake your plants, killing them while you are keeping paint splatters from hitting. A better way to cover your plants include throwing a lightweight sheet or piece of butcher paper will do a more effective job at protecting plants.

- Place garden stakes in the ground around the plants you want to protect. Drape a sheet or paper over top of this. Lightweight outdoor furniture can be placed around the perimeter of the garden with a sheet draped over if you do not have garden stakes.

- Row covers are another possibility. These are typically used for frost prevention in a vegetable garden, but could be moved to where you are working to help protect your plants.

Protect Soil from Compaction
Stomping on the area around the plants can cause compaction and damage the roots. Clean up spills immediately and work carefully around any plant you want to keep for next year.

Finally, remember to remove any protection; frames, sheets, chairs, paper and rope as soon as possible. Water your plants after they have been stressed.

Also, if it looks as if damage to a favorite plant, shrub or tree is inevitable, consider transplanting it before beginning the home improvement project.