Central Indiana had its first snowfall of the season this week. Do gardeners rejoice when there’s snowfall or do they think only of shoveling the driveway?
I think most gardeners are glad to see snow cover their gardens. It doesn’t make much difference for those growing annuals and vegetables. Their plants have long ago joined the compost pile. If you have a large perennial garden, though, snow cover can help some marginal plants make it through the winter.
That seems backward, doesn’t it? Isn’t it extra cold under all that snow? Actually, comparatively, it’s warm and snuggly under the snow. Snow keeps plants at a constant temperature, closer to the melting point of water than to the air temperature. Snow also protects the plants from drying winter winds.
We see the effects of snow cover in two ways. First, herbaceous plants normally killed when temperatures fall to near zero may survive if they are covered with snow. Secondly, flower buds that cannot survive extreme cold are often protected by the snow cover. We frequently see this in forsythia, a shrub that flowers in early spring. If temperatures fall below about -10 degrees F the flower buds of forsythia are killed (not the whole plant, just the flower buds). However, if there is snow cover, the buds low down on the stem, under the snow, will stay warmer and survive. In spring, you will see forsythia that has flowers close to the ground, where the snow covered the stems, but no flowers on the upper stems.
So, yes, gardeners usually love snow. But gardeners often don’t love really heavy, wet snows and ice. Check back next week for tips on dealing with this type of weather.
