Protecting your plants from the cold winter weather is essential to ensuring that your plants remain healthy during the winter season. This is especially true in Elkhart, IN, where winter temperatures regularly drop below freezing.

Fortunately, there is a proven method you can use to keep your plants healthy during the winter. One of the best ways to protect your plants from freezing temperatures is to replenish existing ground covers or by installing new ground covers in the fall. Landscape beds that have adequate ground coverings are able to maintain a consistent soil temperature, retain moisture, and prevent weeds from surfacing.

Ground coverings help regulate soil temperatures.

Mulch for landscape beds regulating soil temperature.

A ground cover will regulate your soil's temperature and can protect it from sudden weather changes. If your landscape beds lack an adequate ground covering, a minor shift in temperature could harm your plants. For example, if the weather is freezing this week but the temperature rises a few degrees next week, your plants could think that warmer weather is on its way and might start to exit the dormancy phase. However, should they exit dormancy, your plants could suffer permanent damage when the cold weather returns.

In addition to regulating soil temperature ground coverings also help seal in a layer of warmth. This means regardless of how cold it gets, your soil temperature retains some warmth and won't fluctuate too much. The end result is that your plants get to make it through winter dormancy undisturbed.

Ground coverings help your soil retain moisture.

Landscape bed rocks he;ping retain water in winter in Elkhart, IN.

A ground cover can help retain your soil's moisture. Installing a mulch or rock ground covering in your landscape beds helps your plants receive proper hydration throughout the winter by retaining moisture. It does this by trapping water beneath the surface of the ground covering, keeping the soil moist. Since the sun can't evaporate the water when it is trapped beneath the ground covering, it will stay there for longer, and keep your plants hydrated.

Mulch prevents weeds from breaking the surface of your landscape beds.

Mulch around bushes in winter to prevent weed growth in South Bend, IN.

While weeds are less common in the winter, they have been known to show up in landscape beds during the cooler months. Two weeds that tend to cause problems for property owners in the Elkhart, IN area even during the winter season are chickweed and henbit.

A well-installed ground covering can prevent weeds from taking over your landscape beds. Whether you use mulch or rocks for a ground covering, they present a barrier that makes it difficult for weeds to break the surface. Because they can't break the surface, they won't be able to get the necessary sunlight that they need to grow and will eventually die off.

While ground coverings serve a practical purpose they can also add a sense of aesthetic design to your property. The key is using a color that accents your landscape.

Protect your plants from the winter weather with our mulch installation. Contact us today!

At Grow Pros Lawn Care, LLC, we offer lawn and landscaping maintenance to commercial, residential, and HOA property owners. One way we do this is through our mulch installation and replenishment service. We've helped countless commercial and residential properties with this service for nearly a decade. And although we can manage scale, installing as much as 500 yards of mulch per day, we take on smaller projects and residential jobs, as well.

If you're concerned about protecting your plants through the winter and are in Elkhart, Granger, South Bend, or nearby in Indiana, we can help. But freezing temperatures are only a few weeks away, so don't wait. Contact us today at (574) 326-3526 to schedule a consultation.