These Frost-Sensitive Trees and Shrubs Need Wrapping Before the Winter – Here’s How to Do It

Temperatures are dropping and the nights are drawing in. Before the first frosts arrive, some tender, tropical, or subtropical plants in your garden might need to be put to bed for the winter. Wrapping these frost-sensitive plants keeps them safely tucked up and protected from freezing conditions.

Giving popular trees and shrubs like tree ferns, bananas, citrus, tender palms, or tropical hibiscus a cozy, insulated layer of frost cloth or burlap protects the plants from frost. It is an alternative way to shield them from potentially damaging winter weather if you don’t have space to lift and bring them indoors.

Here are five tender plants to wrap in November, along with easy-to-follow recommendations for how to keep them protected. If you plan to use frost cloth, also known as horticultural fleece or row covers, choose a thicker heavyweight type, such as this super heavyweight row cover on Amazon, which protects down to 20°F.

1. Tree Fern

Statuesque, textural tree ferns are always dramatic additions to any garden. They are hardy in zones 9 and 10 but will need protection from the winter cold in zone 8.

If you have the space, you can lift the plants and overwinter them in a greenhouse or frost-free spot. Otherwise, wrapping tree ferns is the best way to protect them from frost. This is what we did every winter at one historic garden I worked in.

When you grow tree ferns, their crowns are highly vulnerable to cold and wet, so the growing point is the priority when wrapping plants for winter.

To winterize tree ferns, tie the fronds together (you can cut them off in climates with milder winters, but I prefer to keep them for extra protection) and then pack the crown with straw or hessian to insulate it.

With the crown packed and protected, wrap the entire trunk in frost cloth or burlap (you can get a natural burlap roll at Walmart) and tie it in place with string to keep it secure.

2. Tropical Hibiscus

Tropical hibiscus varieties only survive outdoors in zones 9-11. To enjoy the vivid trumpet-shaped blooms of the tropical plants year after year, you need to learn how to winterize hibiscus.

The simplest way is to grow hibiscus that need winter protection in pots; then move them indoors once the temperatures drop. However, this is not always possible, but it is not impossible to overwinter these hibiscus outdoors in areas that get light frosts each winter.

In colder climates, a key job to do with hibiscus in the fall is to mulch the roots. Then you can prune the hibiscus back by up to a third with sharp pruners and wrap the plants with thick-grade frost cloth to insulate them from frosts.

Use bamboo poles (available at The Home Depot) to build a tent structure around the hibiscus, and drape the frost cloth over it. Secure the covering to the ground with bricks or landscaping staples (available at Lowe’s) to keep it in place and prevent cold drafts from getting in.

3. Citrus Trees

Some citrus trees are hardier than others. However, any citrus tree will only tolerate temperatures down to 25-28°F for a short time before suffering damage in the form of wilting leaves or blackened tips.

The hardier citrus trees can live year-round outdoors in zone 8, but more tender types will need protection, and all citrus need extra winter care in zones 7 and below. Plus, young trees are not as hardy as older ones, so newly planted trees need winter protection in their early years.

People usually overwinter citrus trees in one of two ways. One is to grow citrus trees in pots and move them indoors before the frosts arrive. The other is to leave them outdoors and use frost cloth, burlap, or tree covers (available at Amazon) to wrap them and protect them from frost damage.

4. Banana

Bananas can be dug up and overwintered indoors, or wrapped and protected in place before the first hard frost. Tender banana trees always need protection, while even popular cold-hardy banana trees in the Musa genus need to be wrapped in US hardiness zones 5-8.

The extent to which you need to overwinter banana trees will depend on your climate. It all starts with removing the leaves and making a sloping cut above the top of the stem, so moisture runs away over winter.

When you grow banana trees in milder climates, a layer of frost cloth topped with a layer of burlap can suffice.

However, in colder zones with deep winter cold, it needs to be something a bit more insulating. This comes in the form of a chicken wire cage around the trunk that you pack with straw, leaves, or fleece. You can get a roll of galvanized steel chicken wire fencing at Lowe’s.

A layer of mulch around the tree is also recommended to insulate the roots from frost.

5. Tender Palms

Tropical and subtropical palm trees are frost-sensitive. Some hardy palms, such as the Trachycarpus species, can overwinter outdoors down to zone 6, but most fall into the tropical or subtropical category and need winter protection.

The crown is the most delicate part. To protect the palm trees in winter, stuff fleece around the crown, bundle the fronds together, and wrap them with string or twine. This keeps them in place and prevents frost from penetrating the growing point.

Then, wrap the tied fronds and the trunk in frost cloth to insulate against the cold. You can also use burlap or blankets, but never wrap trees in plastic, as it traps moisture and causes mold.

A pop-up plant protection tent from Amazon can be used to cover smaller palm trees and other borderline-hardy shrubs that need winter protection.

Mulching around palm trees in winter with two inches or more of bark (such as this bag of pine bark mulch at Lowe’s), wood chips, or compost offers a beneficial layer of insulation for the roots.

What to Shop

It is not all about simply putting the garden to bed in November. It is also a month for adding trees, shrubs, perennials, and spring bulbs to the garden.

You can plant in November, as long as the soil is workable and not waterlogged or frozen. Yes, spend time protecting and preparing before winter, but also set some aside for new additions to add to the display next year.

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