Preventing Winter Damage / RHS Gardening

1. RHS Home
2. Gardening Advice
3. Preventing winter damage

Preventing winter damage Cold, wet, windy winter weather can damage trees, shrubs and garden structures such as trellis. Improving shelter, staking plants, mulching, wrapping pots and careful matching of plants to places will help to prevent this kind of damage.

By The RHS Advice Team

19 Dec, 2025

RHS Advice Guides

• Quick facts
• Suitable for...
• When to protect plants
• How to prevent winter damage
• Climate change
• Problems

The new app packed with trusted gardening know-how

Download app

Quick facts

Suitable for - Trees, shrubs, tender plants, garden structures

1

Timing - Mainly in autumn, before the winter

2

Difficulty - Easy to moderate

3

Discover RHS Gardens for free with an RHS membership

25% off today

Join today

Suitable for...

In mild areas, tender plants can be overwintered outside with appropriate protective coverings.

In cold or exposed areas, even hardy plants may need some protection from the elements.

Evergreen plants and pot plants are at particular risk, so require special attention.

Video tips for preparing your garden for the winter months

When to protect plants

Protective wrappings should be put in place at the first sign of frosts.

Cultivation practices can be altered from mid-summer onwards to protect plants later in the season. Long-term planning for planting shelter belts or positioning new plants can be done at any time.

How to prevent winter damage

Protection through cultivation

• Feeding: Avoid applications of nitrogen-rich fertilisers late in the season, as they stimulate sappy growth
• Soil cover: Soil exposure, particularly in the vegetable patch, can result in leaching of nutrients. Green manure, such as mustard, sown in September reduces this leaching. Juvenile plants will retain nutrients To grow well, plants need a wide range of nutrients in various amounts, depending on the individual plant and its stage of growth. The three key nutrients usually taken up from the soil are nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Plants also need carbon, oxygen and hydrogen to make carbohydrates — their main energy source. Carbon and oxygen come from the air as carbon dioxide, while hydrogen is drawn from water absorbed by the roots. Other important soil nutrients include magnesium, calcium and sulphur. Most garden soils contain enough of these nutrients to support healthy plant growth. until dug back into the soil in spring
• Mulching: This can reduce compaction and soil erosion that can commonly follow heavy rain
• Overwinter plants by wrapping: Plants can be protected from cold, wet weather by wrapping with re-used or plant-based horticultural fleece A soft, fibrous, translucent material laid over or around plants hastening their growth and protecting them against weather and pests. Heavier grades of fleece give about 2°C of protection from frost. It is usually used without supporting hoops. . For more on overwintering plants, see the links below
• Plant in a sheltered spot: Your garden is a microclimate in itself. You will have warm spots, at the base of a south-facing wall, and cold or wet spots on the north side of the house. Choose plants carefully for each of these positions. Site early-flowering plants such as magnolias and camellias so that they are not exposed to the morning sun, as rapid thawing of frozen buds A bud is a small, undeveloped shoot that contains the potential for new growth. Buds are typically found on stems, where they can be apical (found at the tip) or axillary (found between leaf axils) and may develop into leaves, shoots or flowers. can result in blackening and bud A bud is a small, undeveloped shoot that contains the potential for new growth. Buds are typically found on stems, where they can be apical (found at the tip) or axillary (found between leaf axils) and may develop into leaves, shoots or flowers. drop
• Containers: Keep containers in dry, sheltered areas, grouped together for mutual protection. Prevent roots freezing in containers by wrapping with bubble polythene or straw. Alternatively plunge (bury with the rim just showing) the pot into the ground

Other measures

• Structures: Before the start of winter, check all garden structures and replace or re-attach loose panels, roofs, posts and fences. Replace solid fences with ones that are 50 percent wind permeable to avoid gusting, turbulence and shaking
• Plant windbreaks: A cold and windy site will often require windbreaks of additional planting such as hedges. Strategic placing of temporary woven hurdles, netting or similar materials on deeply embedded stout posts can help in the short-term
• Drainage: Deal with drainage problems promptly, as wet soils can make young or shallow rooted trees more likely to uproot in the wind

Climate change

Gardening in a changing climate brings uncertainty and the potential for more extreme weather.

Milder winters are not necessarily good news for gardeners as they may prevent the protective deep dormancy Dormancy refers to a period of inactivity in plants, during which they slow down or stop their growth, conserving energy and resources. This is a natural process that helps them survive harsh conditions, such as winter or drought. Dormancy in seeds is a mechanism that prevents them germinating until environmental conditions are favourable for growth. common in many trees and shrubs. This increases their susceptibility to frost and scorch caused by cold winds or sudden cold snaps.

However, on the plus side the mild winters experienced in recent years have led to better survival of more tender plants, increasing the range of species available to gardeners.

Problems

If snow sits on hedges or the crowns of trees there is a danger of branches breaking. Shake off excess snow as it starts to build up on branches, and prune hedges to taper at the top to minimise snow damage.

RHS Guides, you may also like

• Category: Advice

  Cloches

  Cloches are low portable protective structures made of glass or rigid transparent plastic. Tunnel cloches are low continuous tunnels of flexible plastic. Single cloches can often be joined to provide continuous protection to plants, especially vegetables, from the elements.
• Category: Advice

  Fruit: protecting from frost

  Most top fruit and soft fruit are very hardy but once they start into growth in spring, flowers and buds are especially vulnerable to frost and may need protection to crop well.
• Category: Advice

  Brown leaves on woody plants

  The development of brown leaves on a prized plant can be a worrying discovery. However, it doesn't neccessarily mean that you will lose the plant. Often brown leaves are caused by environmental factors, which can be remedied by paying close attention to watering, drainage and shelter.
• Category: Advice

  Fleece and crop covers

  Fleece and crop covers can be laid over or around plants to encourage faster growth and protect against weather and pests. Many products contain plastic but there are now plastic-free options available that are better for environment.
• Category: Advice

  Frost damage

  Frost can affect many plants, and is particularly damaging to tender new growth and blossom in the spring. The risks of frost damage can be reduced by taking some simple steps to protect the plants in your garden.
• Category: Advice

  Hardening off tender plants

  Plants raised indoors or in a greenhouse need to be acclimatised to cooler temperatures, lower humidity and increased air movement for about two to three weeks before they are planted outdoors. This ‘toughening up’ process is known as hardening off.
• Category: Advice

  Overwintering tender plants: lifting or mulching

  Tender plants can be cut back, lifted and stored in a dormant state, or protected with a covering of organic matter (known as mulch). The decision on whether to lift and store or leave them outside under mulch depends both upon the plant and the local climate.
• Category: Advice

  Overwintering tender plants: wrapping

  When it is not practical to lift or move tender plants, the best way to protect them from the winter cold and wet is to wrap them up. In exposed or cold areas, even relatively hardy plants may need protection.
• Category: Advice

  Wind scorch

  In winter, evergreen plants are prone to wind scorch (also known as leaf scorch). This is caused by cold winds and poor soil conditions resulting in scorched, brown, dry leaves.