During the winter, many homeowners don’t spend too much time thinking about the health of their plants.  After all, winters, especially those that are as severe as the ones in mountainous regions such as Colorado, can be severe.  Because of this, people tend to think that plants essentially hibernate.

That’s not true, however, and keeping your plant properly taken care of in the winter is important to making sure that it not only blooms in the spring seasons, but that it blooms more beautiful than ever. There are a number or reasons that you will need to take care of your plants and yard, as well as indoor plants, during the winter.

Why Your Plants Need Winter Care

Like every other organism, your plants and yard need care during the winter, and they are still alive during the coldest months of the year.  They need care mainly because:

  • During the winter, conditions are much harsher. This is obvious; the cold, the snow, the wind, these are not conducive to growing a plant in most cases.
  • During winter months, there is less sun. Plants need sun to provide nutrients for growth and maintenance, and they’re not going to be getting as much as usual.

Thankfully, you can help to keep plants and yards healthy with a bit of fertilizing in the winter.

How to Keep Plants Fertilized in the Winter

Now, fertilizing your plant during the winter is not the same as fertilizing the plants in the summer. To begin with, it can be more difficult to get fertilizer into the soil or to the roots, especially if the ground is frozen.  Here are a few things you can do to keep plants growing in winter.

  • Apply liquid or grain fertilizer to the root at lesser quantities than usual. A fourth, or an eighth, can be good for helping things to grow throughout the winter.
  • Do NOT apply fertilizers to topsoil, or atop frozen snow or ground. It will just wash away with the melting of snow, and in some cases can poison pets or wildlife.
  • Fertilize BEFORE the winter. Fertilizing according to instructions on the package in October will give the plants plenty of nutrients to help them get through the coldest season of the year.

A Warning

Fertilizing plants in winter should be done sparingly.  Most plants are not going to need the fertilizing, especially if you provided appropriate fertilizer throughout the year.  Overfertilization during the winter months is also likely to lead to growth that is scrawny, even scraggly, not to quality growth that will stand the test of time.

If you’re not sure what to do to keep your plants alive during the winter and to make sure they can continue to grow, you should contact a professional.  Not everyone is lucky enough to have a green thumb, and if you lack experience in fertilizing plants for winter (or just in fertilizing your plants and grass in general), then it may be in your best interest to invest in professional help, such as that which the Ground Guys can offer.