This is how the plants get through the cold

instructions

Required material

• a pair of secateurs
• Insulating material such as straw, brushwood or old foliage
• Garden fleece, bubble wrap or Burlap sacks
• Wooden or styrofoam mats

proceed

• Cut back and remove old parts of the plant
• Check for winter hardiness
• Attach winter protection
• further care

The cut back

Deciduous plants withdraw their nutrients in the autumn due to the weaker sunlight. For this reason, the chlorophyll, the green pigment, also disappears from the leaves. Since the plants no longer have a handsome appearance anyway, pruning is all the easier. You should remove withered or even diseased shoots before installing winter protection. Depending on the type of balcony plant, it is also advisable to cut back to about a third of the original length. Thus, the plant does not waste unnecessary energy in maintaining the new shoots, but can gather strength in the resting phase in order to sprout magnificently in the following year. However, do not prune back too late in the year so that wounds can close before the first frost.

Control of winter hardiness

Not every plant that is declared as hardy can withstand severe freezing temperatures. Some plants have to be overwintered indoors. Temporarily relocate the potted plants to a cool stairwell. Before doing this, you should also carefully scan the plant for pests or diseases.

Attach winter protection

• Cover the substrate with straw or brushwood
• make sure that air still gets to the earth
• Place the plant on a protected house wall
• bucket Cover with fleece or jute
• If necessary, fix it with a cord
• Bucket on a wooden or Styrofoam plate(€ 43.00 at Amazon *) to avoid the cold from below
• possibly put a second cover over it

Further care

• Water on frost-free days
• Leave winter protection on the plant only as long as necessary