9 Tasks to Do Now To Prepare Your Garden for Winter

Fall and early winter are perfect seasons for taking stock of your garden. You can prepare plants for freezing temperatures, clean up debris, and winterize your growing setup. Join backyard gardener Jerad Bryant to discover nine simple tasks that keep your garden in tip-top shape during the off-season.

Close-up of a faded hydrangea bush with thin, tall stems and large, dry flowers tied with white rope to protect it from snow, as part of winter garden preparations.

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It’s helpful to winterize your garden before the first frost date in autumn. That way, once freezing temperatures arrive your plants will be ready to brave the cold. They’ll have extra protection so they can erupt in bloom once spring warmth arrives.

Other tasks keep the garden looking and performing its best. We’ll clear summer debris, add mulch everywhere, and clean tools and supplies. A little work now means you’ll rest easy throughout the cold season. You can look at seed catalogs and plan your future layouts without worrying about the current state of your garden.

Some tasks are more important than others. We’ll prioritize the most important ones first and go down the list in order of priority. Each garden is different, so some may work for you while others won’t. Take stock of your yard, and you’ll know exactly which chores to prioritize this autumn.

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Tie Up Weak Wooded Shrubs

Close-up of a woody shrub with thin, vertical, slightly arched stems covered in small green and brown autumn leaves, tied with white rope for support against wind and snow in an autumn garden.
Protect branches from snow and ice to prevent breakage.

Winter snow and ice threaten woody plants! Ice and snow are heavy, and they can weigh down branches to the point of breakage. The most susceptible specimens include arborvitae, young rhododendrons and azaleas, and evergreen shrubs like boxwood. Using a simple technique, we’ll keep the ice and snow off their branches and ensure breakage doesn’t occur.

Start clearing any existing snow off of the branches, and avoid removing ice. Once all the snow’s gone, use a rope to tie the branches upward. Upward sloping wood prevents snow from building up and weighing down the specimen. It’ll be safe despite extreme winter storms.

Snow and ice are insulators, though, and good for protecting the soil. Let them sit around the base of your plants, and they’ll act like an organic mulch. When they thaw in spring, the moisture will help early flowering bulbs and perennials emerge from the ground with ease.

Insulate Container Plants

Close-up of woman in floral gloves and checkered shirt holding large green pot with blooming yellow chrysanthemums in autumn garden.
Potted plants need protection from frost and ice exposure.

Dirt protects plants from frost and ice. The deeper it goes, the warmer temperatures are. Container plants lack the luxury of having insulated roots and will need a change of pace before the first frost date. Some species, like hardy junipers, survive year-round in containers outdoors with little protection. Others, like eucalyptus, need a protected spot to endure the cold season.

Move frost-tender outdoor plants in containers to a location like a cool garage, cold frame, or protected porch or balcony. These spots provide cover from snow, rain, and ice—they also offer some warmth if they’re sealed or close to large structures. If you lack these spaces, use blankets, frost cloth, or plastic sheeting to insulate the pots.

Most tropical houseplants won’t survive outdoors unless you live in USDA hardiness zone 10 or above. Some hardy houseplants will survive, like asparagus ferns or certain desert cacti. Most warmth-loving species need the protection of a house during winter. Wash their leaves, clean them of pests, and bring them indoors to a brightly lit location.

Cover Tender Perennials

Rose bushes with neatly trimmed stems are surrounded by a thick layer of light-colored sawdust mulch, accentuating their bare, pruned branches.
Mulch protects frost-sensitive perennials and encourages spring growth.

Herbaceous perennials are plants that die below ground during winter, while others are ones that lose their leaves and fortify their woody stems. They emerge with new growth in spring once the weather warms and days lengthen. Some survive without cover in milder zones, though others are frost-sensitive and appreciate a thick mulch layer.

These are some common garden perennials that appreciate insulation via mulch:

  • Hardy Fuchsias
  • Sages
  • Dahlias
  • Roses
  • Pineapple Guava
  • Canna
  • Oregano
  • Catnip
  • Sensitive Ferns
  • Clematis

Use a thick layer of mulch like compost, fall leaves, or leaf mold to insulate the root zone. Cover the crowns of species like hardy fuchsias, as they keep some live energy in their lower branches during winter. The thicker the layer, the more warmth and insulation you provide. Uncover these garden specimens in spring so they can emerge without issue. 

It should be noted that in climates with consistent freezes, some of these plants won’t survive, even with a thick layer of mulch. In this case, look to your hardiness zone and compare it to the recommended zone for the species. It may be better to grow some in containers, depending on where you live.

Check Soil Moisture

Close-up of a black hose spraying water onto the soil in a sunny garden.
Moist soils are essential for keeping plants healthy.

Soils usually stay wet throughout the winter, and most won’t need additional irrigation. The areas that do require extra water are those lying under cover—eaves, awnings, and protected porches prevent moisture from falling into the dirt. Cold temperatures especially threaten thirsty plants lying underneath them.

Keeping winter soils moist keeps plants alive! Ensure no areas dry out. An easy way to test moisture levels is with the finger test. Uncover the area from any leaves or mulch, and stick your finger directly into the ground as deep as it goes. Hold off on watering if you sense moisture, and apply water if it’s dry. 

It’s best to water on warm winter days early in the morning. This prevents premature freezing, allowing the plants to drink before the water turns to ice. 

Amend Garden Soils

Close-up of a garden bed covered with a layer of mulch made of dry grass, leaves, and branches to protect the soil from frost.
Mulching and composting enrich soils and support beneficial organisms.

As winter approaches, you’ll see tomatoes, peppers, and annual wildflowers die back to the ground. Their foliage turns black and mushy, and their stems fall over. You have two options for these areas: let the organic matter decay in place, or relocate it to a compost pile.

Once you deal with the debris, begin amending garden soils with additional materials. Apply a one to three-inch thick layer of mulch; materials like compost, straw, and fall leaves work perfectly. You’ll want to use an organic material that decays. Decaying mulches provide nutrients for plants, host beneficial soil microbes, and they protect beneficial insects that overwinter in the cover. 

If the dirt is compact, now is also a good time to aerate the soil. Use a soil aerator tool made for the job, or simply stab a pitchfork in the ground to create air pockets in dense earth. Thick mulch layers will also help break up compact soils by adding structure, porosity, and water retention.

Prepare Lawns for Frost

Close-up of a lawn mower with a long handle and a round blade mowing a lawn in an autumn garden.
Mow taller grass and mulch leaves for healthy soil.

Fall is an ideal season to prepare your lawn for winter. Cool, wet autumn weather causes grass to grow before the first frost date. To perform its best next spring, your lawn will need a few mowings and layers of mulch. Start by mowing so the grass is taller than during the growing season; keep it between two and four inches tall.

A high grass blade height protects and insulates the soil, preventing sensitive roots from freezing. While you’re mowing you may come across fall leaves from nearby trees. Instead of bagging them up or mowing them into a bag, use a mulch plug! It keeps the grass and leaves in the way of the mower blade. Instead of sucking them into a bag, it chops them up into tiny pieces and injects them into the ground.

If you lack a lawn mower with a mulch plug feature, try collecting the leaves to make compost or leaf mold. Then, once the amendments are ready, broadcast the mulch throughout the lawn. Handheld contraptions exist that make broadcasting easy. They spray small particles and work well for dispensing mulch, fertilizer, and pH adjusters.

Start a Compost Pile

The palette composter is filled with a mix of dry leaves and branches, creating a layered, rustic look within the wooden frame.
Turn organic waste into rich soil with composting!

Compost piles are excellent tools for recycling waste. They turn rotting organic matter into fertile, black, crumbly soil full of humus. Autumn is an ideal time to start a compost pile because organic waste lies in excess. Grass clippings, fall leaves, and fallen twigs are everywhere! Collect them, make a pile, and care for it; you’ll have a free soil amendment by springtime.

Compost needs a balance of two different materials: greens and browns. Greens are fleshy plant cuttings, kitchen scraps, and grass clippings. They’re often wet, fleshy, green, and rich in nitrogen. Browns are dry and full of carbon. They’re things like cardboard, paper, straw, and fall leaves. 

Mix the waste in a pile at a 1:2 or 1:3 ratio of greens to browns. For every scoop full of green waste you add, you’ll want to put two or three scoops of brown waste in the pile. A pile three feet wide, tall, and long is the perfect size for rapid decomposition.

Compost needs regular turning and consistent moisture. Turning involves using a pitchfork to rotate the debris. This injects air into the pile and speeds up decomposition. Turn your piles daily to create hot compost, and monthly for cold compost. Water the piles as often as you need to keep them at 50% moisture. They should feel like a wrung-out sponge when you grasp a clump of them.

Clean Tools

A gardener in blue gloves cleans a garden shovel with water from a pink hose.
Use this time to clean and sharpen your tools.

Winter gives us gardeners lots of free time! Without pruning, fertilizing, or amending not much else is there to do. Because we’re doing less, you probably won’t need to use your gardening tools. Now is the ideal time to clean, sanitize, and store them for the off-season.

It’s also a great time to sharpen cutting tools! Try sharpening with a whetstone or a handheld sharpener that’s easy to use. After sharpening, use rubbing alcohol to sanitize and clear off debris from the blades. I like to use a stainless steel scrubbing pad to remove dry sap and debris. Once the tools are clean, let them dry fully.

You may apply a lubricating or rust-preventative oil at this stage if the tools need it. Otherwise, store them in a cool and protected location away from moisture. They’ll be sharp, clean, and disease free, so you can easily grab them and put them to use once the weather warms.

Plant Winter Bloomers

Close-up of male hands in gardening gloves transplanting hellebore seedlings with creamy green flowers into the soil in a garden.
Brighten cold days with winter blooms and early flowers.

A winter garden with blooms is possible in a few temperate zones. If you live from USDA hardiness zones 6 and above, you can likely keep pansies, hellebores, and violas in your garden for early flowers during the cold season. Hellebores bloom in early spring, while some pansies do so in fall and keep going until spring. 

You can also plant winter annuals now in cold climates below zone 6. Your plants may die during winter, but they’ll provide some fall color and wildflowers until they tucker out. Other ideal fall species are chrysanthemums, decorative peppers, and American asters. 

While planting cold-loving species, you can also plot out your future garden layout for next spring. Take stock of the empty spaces you have, the conditions they receive, and what plants could grow in them. With a little prep work now, you’ll have everything in place for a successful growing season next year.

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gloved gardener placing frost protection over rose bush

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