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INCREASING WINTER HARDINESS
To ensure the successful wintering of permanent plants such as perennials, fruit trees, turf grasses etc. the secret is to have them face winter in a hardened condition. They must be as close to dormancy as possible and fully matured. To assist them to reach this condition, cease the use of fertilizer by mid-summer, generally. For turf, use low nitrogen fertilizers in the fall. Any fertilization of trees should be a with low nitrogen fertilizer and only after leaf drop to prevent the growth of soft succulent tissue which would not have time to harden off. In wet areas, cease cultivation by the end of July to aid the hardening process. Water only sparingly from August to October but ensure the plants receive sufficient water before freeze-up.A. IN THE ORCHARD
In the orchard, planting a cover crop such as fall rye or oats in late July serves three purposes. The cover crop absorbs nutrients and moisture, slowing down the growth rate and aiding the trees to harden off. The cover crop also traps snow and holds it so that it will provide moisture when spring thaws occur. Grass has also been used successfully for this purpose but it must be mowed short to discourage rodents which will attack the trees during winter doing extensive damage and often killing them.
Overbearing of fruit trees leave them weakened and susceptible to winter damage. Always thin fruit crops when young. This ensures an even distribution of fruit over the tree to reduce the weakening of branches from overweight. Delay thinning the fruit until after natural fruit fall of apples in early June. Blossom thinning chemicals are not advised on the prairies. Late spring frosts may kill blossoms at any time and if coupled with chemical spraying, very few fruit will survive.
Another way of increasing the hardiness of fruit trees is by the use of stem builders. The main trunk and branches of a fruit tree are the most susceptible to frost damage. Stem building is the process of budding the desirable apple onto the frame of a very hardy crabapple. This makes a sturdier, hardier tree. If Malus baccata is used for the frame, a dwarf, low-headed tree will result. In Russia, apple trees are trained to stay close to the ground to take advantage of snow cover. Good crops have been reported using this method. In Quebec, orchardmen are starting to use a method called Swiss pruning to keep trees low for ease of spraying and picking. It is used to rejuvenate standard apple trees which have grown too tall. I have not been able to determine if the Russian method and the Swiss method are the same but the descriptions are very similar. It is a method of training apples that should be looked at for the north.
B. ROSES
Roses are considered too tender to over-winter in the north but this has been proven wrong many times. The key to survival of roses is similar to other plants. Cease fertilization in July. When cutting roses late in August and onward into the fall, always cut with a short stem to avoid stimulating new soft growth. Some growers recommend removing the foliage from the lower half of the bush in late August to slow growth. Reduce watering beginning September but do not allow the rose bushes to become dry. These procedures will help the roses harden off properly for winter.
C. TURF GRASSES
Even with turf grasses, the key to success is ensuring that the grass plants are as close to dormancy as possible when they go into winter. Again, fertilization plays an important part, along with the amount of soil moisture, mowing height, amount of thatch, presence of snow cover, and the cultivar selected. Do not use cultivars that remain green and succulent for they will be too susceptible to damage. Merion Bluegrass is the worst cultivar for this problem. Even though a lush green lawn is considered a status symbol, it is a liability in the north. Dormie is the earliest cultivar to go dormant and is the one most suitable for the north. When irrigating turf, always water deeply and ensure that the turf is watered well in the fall. Improve surface drainage to eliminate pockets of standing water which will damage the lawn. To ensure that the soil will retain sufficient water to overcome the dessication of the sun in early spring, dethatch, core and/or aerify the lawn at the appropriate time. Fall seeding is sometimes recommended for a lawn but it is important that seeding be done early enough that the grass plants will be mature and hardened off before the severe winter weather sets in. Most important of all is KEEP TRAFFIC OFF THE TURF in winter. This includes foot traffic, snowmobiles, anything that compacts the snow surface reducing its insulation value. More damage is done by this one factor alone than all the others combined. Always mow as required until dormancy is reached. Cut higher in the fall to provide insulation but excess height will result in the grass plants smothering. Damage caused by factors such as snow mold can be minimized by keeping the lawn healthy and by the use of fungicides in the fall.
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This page by Pat
updated August 18, 2000
