How to Prepare Your Shrubs for Winter

When fall is nearing its close and the first chilly nights come around, it is time to start thinking about winterizing your shrubs and bushes. This process of winterizing bushes is fairly quick, and will keep your shrubs and bushes safe through the cold winter months, and ready to come back to life in the spring.

How to Prepare Shrubs for Winter: Watch the Weather and Gather Supplies

Normally, people will want to let their shrubs and bushes stay out as long as possible, but if an extended cold front is coming in, you will want to be ready to winterize your bushes within a day or two.

Therefore, when winter is nearing, have your mulch on hand so you won't need to go out and buy it when the time comes to winterize your shrubs. Buy enough mulch to put a solid two inches over the ground around your plants, and an even larger heap over fragile shrubs and bushes.

Then watch the weather report regularly to know if there is a surprise early cold front that could hurt your shrubs if you don't winterize them.

How to Prepare Shrubs for Winter: Trim Back Bushes

If you are wondering how to winterize bushes, it is quite simple: trim them back so they will not be as exposed to the elements, and are ready to spring back to life when the weather warms up again. This is much better for the bushes than leaving them as they are all winter and then trimming them back in the spring. If you have fragile shrubs that grow quickly, your best bet is to just trim them back all the way and protect them fully with mulch for the winter.

How to Prepare Shrubs for Winter: Lots of Mulch

The main element of winterizing shrubs is to use a lot of mulch to insulate them from the elements. The mulch can be of whatever variety you prefer, and do remember that it will still be there in the spring, and you will want to have a somewhat consistent look in your yard, so try to get it all of the same variety.

You will want to spread it at least a couple inches thick, and use larger quantities on shrubs and bushes that are more liable to be damaged in the winter. Heap a large mound of mulch around the base of the shrub, radiating outward as far as the main roots go so they will be protected.