Winter in the Cape Cod garden
by Jeanie GillisSummer may be long gone, but that doesn’t mean your garden won’t still benefit from some attention. Gardening is a year-round activity, especially on beautiful Cape Cod. During the winter it is important to keep your garden in shape. Here are ten tips to help you with your winter gardening:
1. Mulch plants with pine needles, shredded oak leaves or seaweed to prevent freezing and thawing and the subsequent popping out of the ground that can occur.
2. Spray an antidesiccant on evergreens like hollies and rhododendrons. This helps to keep the Cape Cod winds from drying your plants out. Temperatures need to be above freezing when you do this.
3. If snow falls, pull it away from the stems of trees and shrubs to prevent mice from nibbling.
4. Cut some branches to bring inside to force. Witch hazel is one of the first trees in the garden to bloom. Forsythia is the easiest to force.
5. Pruning of fruit trees can begin now that the plants are dormant. Remember to use clean, sharp tools and don't use any kind of pruning sealer or paint. Fruit trees like lots of space between the branches. To determine the proper amount of space, imagine a bird being able to fly through freely.
6. Pick up wind-dropped twigs and branches to use inside for fire starting.
7. Avoid walking on frozen grass.
8. If shrubs are overgrown and woody, prune back hard to the ground. Water well in the spring, to rejuvenate the plant.
9. If rain is in the forecast, broadcast 5-10-5 fertilizer around your flowering plants. The rain will help to soak the fertilizer into the ground.
10. Look for green overwintering weeds in the winter garden. Pull out to prevent more weeds in the spring.
Jeanie Gillis is director of horticulture for Heritage Museums & Gardens in Sandwich. She welcomes your gardening questions and can be reached at (508) 888-3300, ext. 118, or at jgillis@heritagemuseums.org.
If you are interested in attending seminars on gardening, e-mail us at glenn@capebusiness.net.
Published in Cape Business November/December 2007
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