While frost-damaged plants may sometimes seem dead, a simple test can reveal if it’s possible to save as one expert revealed how to do just that
Cold snaps can leave plants frosted, drooping and seemingly dead(Image: GETTY)
Winter is fast approaching and gardeners are being told to frost-proof their delicate plants before the chilly temperatures set in. While vulnerable outdoor plants may be the first ones that spring to mind in need of protection, one expert revealed even the hardiest evergreen plants could suffer if not taken care of.
Jonathan Webster, curator at RHS Garden Rosemoor in Devon, said plants need time to become hardy after a hot summer and if a cold snap is triggered too early, even the sturdiest items could succumb to the frost.
He said: “If they haven’t had time to get used to that cold and shut down, it can cause them more damage. Even hardy plants could have damage to the newer foliage on the tips of the plants.
“We live in a frost pocket here, as Rosemoor sits in a valley and I remember one year when we had a really warm summer and then a really cold spell in early December.
“One week it was about 12 degrees, and then the next it dropped to minus nine and we had lots of plants you would consider hardy-ish – but because they hadn’t hardened off for winter and hadn’t had that slower transition from warm to cold, we lost some.
“We had 10-year-old pittosporums (evergreen shrubs), which come from New Zealand, and they literally all just died.”
How to tell if it’s really dead
If your plants are frost-damaged, Webster recommends giving them some time to recover. He said: “If it’s a shrub, if it’s evergreen, technically they do reshoot from older wood, so wait until spring for signs of life.”
One indicator of whether the plant has survived can be within the stems. Doing a small test scratch on the stem should reveal a vibrant green underneath the surface, but if this is pale, then there is no life left in the plant.
If your plant isn’t dead but has been damaged by the cold, some people might opt to snip off the damaged parts but Webster suggested leaving this until the spring as this outer layer could be protecting what’s underneath it. He said: “Leave it till you see the plant come to life again with new growth in March or early April.”
How to protect your plants
The first step to winter-proofing your garden is bringing your tender plants inside. This can involve lifting perennial plants like dahlias once they have been hit by the cold.
Lifting up the plant is when you take them out of the ground, shake off as much soil as possible, cut down the stems, and hang them upside down.
You can also place tender plants near a wall, which can provide extra heat, or under a shelter to keep the wind away. Keeping the top growth on plants in the lead up to the winter can provide some protection, and protective mulch can also go a long well.
If a cold snap is forecast for your area, you can do some last-minute damage control by tossing a horticultural fleece over your plants. Webster added: “If you’ve planted something new, evergreens can suffer from winter cold winds, which take the moisture out of the leaves. You could put a little shelter around them, some canes and some fleece, just to keep the wind off and create a little microclimate.”
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