Winterizing Your Yard In Eastern Idaho

A single day spent winterizing your yard can make a big difference in how your plants make it through the winter and how they perform the next season. Here are some tips to help make winterizing your yard simple.

Spring-Blooming Bulbs

Plant spring-blooming bulbs like allium, tulips, daffodils, crocus and hyacinth. Plant bulbs in perennial beds or anywhere a burst of springtime color is needed. Make sure the soil has good drainage by adding compost or soil pep. Some shady areas of the yard may be sunny when the trees are bare in the spring, so utilize bulbs in those areas as well.

Perennials

Perennial beds can be cleaned up and mulched to keep your garden disease-free and well insulated. Trim most perennials after the foliage has died back from hard frosts (October) to a couple inches tall. Waiting until the foliage dies back helps return energy to the roots for next year’s growth. One exception is ornamental grasses, which can be left until spring just because they look great during late fall and winter. Cover the root area with a layer of mulch such as soil pep, chopped leaves or compost. Put the mulch a few inches deep. The idea behind this is to keep the temperature of the soil constant. Make sure they are watered well through late October. Spring-blooming perennials can be divided in October. Late-summer blooming perennials should be divided in the spring.

Lawns

In the fall, your lawn is storing energy to help it get through the tough winter months and to help create a healthier lawn next spring. Fertilome Winterizer is one of the most important steps for feeding your lawn. Keep watering late into fall, even after our first hard freeze. We also recommend mowing your lawn a little shorter to help prevent snow mold in the spring. Use Vole Repellent Granules before it snows to prevent voles from damaging your lawn over winter. Damage looks like tunnels in your lawn that appear in the spring after the snow melts. This super effective product works by making the burrowing animals food source and environment smell and taste unpleasant. It can be safe to use around pets and kids, follow instructions on bag.

Weed Control

Weeds can be prevented in well established landscaped areas by applying Casoron granules on the soil. Fall is a great time to apply this because sometimes the weeds are already growing when the snow melts in the spring. Lawn weeds can be sprayed with a broadleaf weed killer like Fertilome Weed Free Zone which is effective down to 40 degrees.

Roses

Hybrid Tea and Floribunda roses should be protected at the base where the plant has been grafted (the crown). After the leaves have dried, set a rose collar around each bush and fill with mulch about 8 inches deep and water well. In late summer and early fall, leaving the old blossoms on the plant to form rose hips can make the stems more woody, and help them withstand winter. Fertilizing in August or September isn’t recommended. It is best to prune roses in spring but you can prune them to 18” tall in the fall if needed. Shrub roses like Easy Elegance or Knockout Roses won’t require fall pruning but you can add a few inches of mulch or leaves to help them through the winter. All roses can be fertilized in October.

Shrubs

Fertilizing around individual shrubs in October will help the plant store nutrients so they will be ready to grow healthy new growth next spring. Continue watering late into the fall to help reduce winter stress. Newly planted shrubs can also be protected with Wilt Stop, an anti-transpirant spray that prevents extreme wind & weather from drying out small twigs and branches. Shrubs can be pruned back from the driveway and sidewalk to make snow removal easier.

Evergreen Shrubs & Trees

Evergreens should be fertilized in October to help the plant store nutrients so they will be ready to grow healthy new growth next spring. Evergreens can also be protected with Wilt Stop, an anti-transpirant spray that prevents extreme weather from drying out their needles. Arborvitae and Alberta Spruce can wind-burn in the winter from our drying winter winds. Wilt-Pruf will help and they should also be wrapped with burlap in November. Continue watering late into fall to help reduce winter stress.

Shade & Fruit Trees

Trees naturally put on a lot of root growth in the fall and this is when the trunk gets bulky. Using Fertilome Tree & Shrub Food to ensure your trees and shrubs store all the nutrients they need for the next season’s growth. Wrap the trunks of young trees with light colored tree wrap to protect from fluctuating temperatures caused by bright sun and cold nights. This prevents splitting bark (sun scald). Tree Wrap is especially important on maples, cherry and Mountain Ash that have a thinner bark. Continue watering late into the fall to help reduce winter stress, especially for newly planted trees.

Berry Patches & Vegetable Gardens

Raspberry patches can be pruned to 5’ tall and tied to prevent snow damage. Fall is a great time to add sulphur to the soil and Casoron to prevent weeds next spring. Add a couple inches of mulch to Strawberry patches. Vegetable gardens can be enriched with compost and Natural Guard Soil Activator. Fall is also a great time to till veggie gardens so they’re ready for spring planting.

Annual Flowers

Pots and containers should be emptied and stored for the winter. Some annuals can be taken indoors to use as houseplants. Make sure to inspect for insects or disease before bringing indoors.