CHAPTER XL 

 WINTER PROTECTION OF PLANTS. 



The winter care of plants is important. The death of a 

 large number of our favorite flowers and shrubs is due to neg- 

 lect. A plant, like an animal, needs protection even though 

 it is partially hardy. Oftentimes abnormal seasons will kill 

 many of our plants, if no protection is given to them. A 

 strong wind will not only break down the plants but will 

 cause the branches and the twigs to dry out to such a degree 

 that the plant cannot recover in the spring. A sudden burst 

 of warm weather during the winter months is very destructive 

 to many kinds of vegetation. These warm spells often cause 

 the buds to start growth, which are later killed by more cold 

 weather. If the plants are properly cared for and protected 

 in some manner this injury is prevented. Alternate freezing 

 and thawing is injurious to plant life and it should be pre- 

 vented whenever it is possible. All of our plants should be 

 held in a dormant state during the cold weather and the 

 closer we maintain this condition the greater success we will 

 have in the wintering of our plants. 



Fall Preparation of a Plant. — There are only a few people 

 who realize that the winter protection of a plant should 

 begin during the late summer. In order to have the plant 

 ripen up its wood, preparatory to going into the winter, the 

 water supply must be reduced. When a plant is allowed to 

 grow rapidly until late in the season, the plant tissue is filled 

 with new cells, the cells are gorged with water, and much of 

 the tissue is soft and green. A plant entering the winter in 

 such a condition is sure to be injured and sometimes die. 



The chief object then, in the fall preparation of a plant, is to 

 check the growth, or at least to retard it to such a degree 

 that the plant tissue will harden and the wood will ripen. 

 The leaves should fall naturally and the leaf scars be perfectly 

 formed. 



