How Do You Protect Plants From Frost Heaving?
During cold winter weather the soil contracts and expands as it freezes and thaws. This natural cycle sometimes pops plants right out of the soil. “Frost heaving” can break your plants’ roots and leave their root balls exposed to dry, frigid air. Protecting your perennial plants and small shrubs from frost heaving is a simple and easy way to help ensure they live through the winter. Here’s what you need to do. Insulating the soil from wintertime temperature fluctuations is the most effective way to prevent frost heaving. Apply a 3 to 4 inch layer of mulch around the base of your plants after the ground freezes in fall. Keep the mulch 2 to 3 inches away from the base and crowns of your plants to prevent rotting. Evergreen boughs, pine needles and wood chips are particularly effective mulches because air easily filters between the layers of mulch, providing an extra bit of insulation. Perennials with shallow root systems are most vulnerable to frost heaving (though deeply rooted and esta
