Every year, folks starting their first landscaping projects forget or decide not to water their plants during winter. When spring rolls around, they’re devastated when some plants don’t bloom and others don’t recover from winter hibernation. To avoid these and other side effects, you should always try to water your plants throughout winter. This guide will explain why winter watering is beneficial and how you should go about it.
Winter Dormancy – It’s Misleading
Here in Colorado, it’s all too easy for homeowners and amateur gardeners to think of winter as a time to relax. Most of the best landscaping plants will turn brown or otherwise stop flowering, apparently entering a hibernation state for the winter like many other types of non-evergreen vegetation. But this apparent dormancy is actually misleading.
Ask any botanist and they’ll tell you that winter can be a particularly dry month. Just because plants aren’t blooming or growing doesn’t mean they don’t need any water. In a place like Colorado, this is doubly true.
Winter – and Colorado in General – Are Dry!
Think about it – Colorado is one of the driest states in the country, both in winter and during the other seasons! Winter itself is the driest season in most places on the planet. Add both of these factors together and it leads to a serious dehydration threat for any plants that aren’t regularly watered throughout the winter months.
Dehydration can be a big concern and lead to some plants dying or experiencing stunted growth during the following growing season. If you want your property to look as vibrant and healthy as it did last year, you need to make sure you maintain a good winter watering routine.
Trees and Shrubs Can Search for Water in Your Pipes
There’s another, more defensive reason to adopt a winter watering routine. Trees and shrubs that have dense or strong root systems will often go searching for water if they don’t receive enough of it once the weather cools down and the air becomes even drier than normal. This wouldn’t normally be an issue.
But many of us plant some of our favorite trees and shrubs near our homes, and specifically near our water pipes. Water pipes (especially wastewater pipes) are broken all across Colorado every winter when property owners forget to water their dehydrated trees. Repairing your water pipes can be incredibly messy and costly, and easily extend into the spring months.
It’s always a good idea to water your trees and shrubs, therefore, so they don’t feel the need to extend their roots and break into your home’s water pipes.
Winter Watering Leads to Spring Greening
A more long-term benefit of winter watering is a better spring greening season. Spring is a phenomenal time of year and, for those of us with landscaped yards, a time to show off our planting and organizing skills as all of our trees and flowers bloom to their fullest.
However, only plants that received enough water to keep vital nutrients accumulated throughout the year will bloom correctly when the spring months roll around. Therefore, adopting a winter watering schedule is crucial if you want your springtime displays to be as excellent as you hope.
When You Should Perform Winter Watering
The good news is that adopting a winter watering schedule is a lot easier, and a lot less labor-intensive, than it is during other parts of the year. Your plants do need less water than they do, say, during the summer. Watering during the winter is more about replacing water that is passively lost because of the dryness in the air than it is providing water for further growth and storage.
We’d recommend watering between one and two times per month between the months of November and April. The exact frequency obviously depends on the types of plants you need to water.
You should also only water on certain days. Relatively warm days with temperatures of around 40°F are ideal. This means the soil will be suitably thawed and water will seep down to plants’ roots without too much difficulty.
By the same token, you should water around midday, when the temperature will likely be the hottest it’ll get, so that water can properly soak into the soil before freezing.
Out of all these times, March and April are the most crucial watering seasons for wintertime watering. That’s because new routes are forming for your plants, and they may need all the help they can get.
One last note – you can hold off watering for up to several weeks if it snows decently. A dusting may not count, but a good, thick snowfall of about an inch or so is usually enough passive watering to help your plants get by without you adding to the moisture.
Winter Watering Priorities
There are certain types of plants you should prioritize, as well.
For instance, newly planted lawns, flowers, shrubs, and trees should obviously be watered more than older plants that are on their way out. You’ll also want to water any established lawn areas, particularly those that are well exposed to the wind. They will lose more moisture passively than plants that are protected from the dry air.
Furthermore, make sure to water any shrubs or ornamental grasses, particularly those groundcovers that help your lawn look a lot greener and more colorful than it would otherwise be.
You can also avoid watering certain plants, like cacti, succulents, buffalo grass, and so on. Again, remember to use a little common sense when watering during the winter. If a particular plant doesn’t need water, don’t ignore those instructions and use this guide instead.
Conclusion
Ultimately, watering your plants during winter will go a long way toward improving the look and longevity of your yard and property. Winter is a time of rest and announces a slower pace of life for many of us, but your plants still need tending to. Water them well, and you’ll be rewarded by a vibrant spring that makes it all worthwhile.