Henry Homeyer: Final garden chores before winter sets in

By Henry Homeyer
©2024 Telegraph Publishing LLC

Winter is fast upon us. The shortest days of the year are ahead, but gardening is done for most of us.

That being said, I still have flowers in bloom outside: My witch-hazel trees are showing gorgeous, twisty-petaled yellow flowers, even after a light snow and several hard frosts. And I still have a few blossoms on one of my ‘Knockout’ roses.

If you planted any trees or shrubs this year, make sure they go into the winter well-watered. We’ve had dry times this summer and fall, so a slow, deep watering is needed now. A woody plant’s roots are still growing now – even after leaf drop, and until the ground freezes around them.

I’m not sure why, but I saw very few Asian jumping worms this summer – perhaps the hot, dry weather inhibited their spread. I think I only have them on one portion of my property, but I am being careful about the possibility of spreading egg cases. I like to chop up my fall leaves and save them for use in the garden, but I don’t do that with leaves in the area where I’ve seen those dreaded worms. Instead I just use them for mulching beds already infected with the invasive worms.

This is the time of year to think about protecting our woody plants from deer predation. I can’t afford to encircle our 2.5 acres of gardens with an 8-foot tall fence, the best way to protect plants. And Rowan, our 4-year old Golden/Irish Setter mix helps discourage deer but he lives indoors and sleeps by the fire all night – just when hungry deer are marauding. Winter is when they want to munch your rhododendrons and other yummy things.

There are several ways to discourage deer. I have found that garlic clips attached to branches about 3 feet off the ground are good. I buy some called “Fend Off Deer and Rabbit Odor Clips.” These are little green plastic cylinders that contain garlic oil. They repel deer for up to five months. Unlike sprays that wash off after a hard rain, these really do a great job. I’ve seen footprints of deer that approached tasty shrubs, sniffed and walked away.

If you have had deer eat the lower branches of your yews — a favorite evergreen for deer — you can also protect your plants by wrapping them with burlap. Yes, tedious, but it is 100% effective. I have done it for years for a client.

Voles, chubby rodents with short tails, are common everywhere and love to nibble on the bark of young trees, particularly fruit trees. You can protect your trees by placing a cylinder of quarter inch “hardware cloth” around them. It comes in 18-inch rolls, which you can cut with tin snips. Wear gloves, it’s razor sharp when cut. But don’t let your tree engulf the wire – which it can do in three years or so.

I know that March is traditionally the time for pruning fruit trees, but November is fine, too. And you shouldn’t have to wade through deep snow to do so. A quick reminder of how to do this: Start by removing any dead or damaged branches. Next evaluate the overall form of the tree: Is it a handsome plant? Can sunshine get to every branch? Is there clutter that should be removed? If so, get to those branches next. Evaluate the future of any branch in question: What will it be like in five years?

Branches on the outside of the tree that are headed back to the center of the tree should be removed. And of course, remove those pencil-thick upward racing water sprouts before they become big. Rubbing or crossing branches? “Off with their heads,” as the Red Queen would say in Alice in Wonderland.

It is not too late to plant spring bulbs. Selection in stores and on-line may be limited, but there is no such thing as a terrible tulip or disgusting daffodil. Daffodils are, generally, more successful than tulips as they are slightly toxic and not eaten by deer or rodents. But next spring you can surround or cover your tulip beds with chicken wire to keep deer from eating them. I generally plant 100 tulips in my vegetable garden each year to use as cut flowers and as gifts or friends and the elderly. I treat them as annuals, pulling the bulbs to make room for tomatoes or lettuce in summer.

If the previous owners of your house planted shrubs around the house, snow from roof may slide off and break branches, particularly if you now have a steel roof. You can save them by making little plywood A-frames. Do this by screwing legs made of strapping or hardwood stakes onto lightweight plywood. Drill holes at the tops of the legs allowing you to connect front and back with a piece of wire so you can spread the A-frame out as needed, and fold it up to put away in spring.

Be sure to drain your hoses and put them away before winter.

Thanksgiving is coming. I celebrate the harvest, as well as my good health, good friends and family, and living in a safe part of the world. I make a point of celebrating by serving vegetables that I have grown myself. This year I have, from my garden, potatoes, carrots, Brussels sprouts, Swiss chard, kale, Italian dandelion greens and garlic. And we’ll make extra applesauce to give to our guests.

So do a little more work in the garden now. It will help dispel the winter doldrums.