🌿 Preparing Your Plants for Winter: A Green Thumb Guide

As the days grow shorter and the nights turn chilly here in the Arkansas River Valley, it’s time to help your garden settle in for its long winter nap. Preparing your plants now ensures a healthier, more vibrant return in spring — and saves you from costly replacements later.

🍂 1. Clean Up, But Don’t Overdo It

Remove dead annuals, spent blooms, and diseased foliage to prevent pests and fungal problems. However, leave seed heads and ornamental grasses standing — they provide food and shelter for birds and beneficial insects through winter.

🌸 2. Mulch and Protect Roots

A thick 2–3” layer of mulch around your perennials, shrubs, and trees helps regulate soil temperature and moisture. Avoid piling mulch directly against trunks or stems — think of it as a cozy blanket, not a suffocating scarf.

🌾 3. Cut Back (Selectively)

Trim back perennials that have finished for the season, but skip the ones that offer winter interest or seed for wildlife. Herbs like sage, oregano, and thyme can be lightly pruned but not cut to the ground until spring growth begins.

🌱 4. Bring Tender Plants Indoors

Before frost arrives, move potted tropicals, succulents, and herbs inside. Check for pests before relocating them. Place them near sunny windows and reduce watering through winter dormancy.

🌳 5. Water Before the Freeze

Give your evergreens, trees, and shrubs a deep watering before the ground freezes. Hydrated roots withstand cold damage better than dry ones.

🪴 6. Protect Young or Sensitive Plants

Use burlap wraps, frost cloths, or even old sheets on especially cold nights to shield tender plants. For container plants, insulate pots with straw, bubble wrap, or by grouping them together near a wall for warmth.

🌼 7. Plan Ahead for Spring

Winter is the perfect time to dream and design. Sketch out your spring garden plans, note what thrived or struggled this year, and make a wish list for new plants.

Remember: preparing your plants for winter isn’t just maintenance — it’s an investment in next year’s garden. A little care now means lush blooms and thriving greenery when the world wakes up again.

🌿 Visit Green Thumb Nursery in Russellville for mulch, frost cloth, and expert advice on protecting your plants this winter!