It’s a challenge trying to decide which plants to protect during winter. This is especially true if you live in an unpredictable climate like the southern part of the United States. Temperatures can change quickly and unexpectedly, with the potential to cause irreversible damage to your plants. But having accurate knowledge about which plants are tender versus hardy makes it a bit easier.
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Typically, plants identified as tender cannot tolerate cold weather. Tender plants are often damaged by frost or don’t survive cold, wintery weather. In contrast, hardy plants can survive through freezing temperatures and extreme winter conditions. But, as we discussed in our Questions from Readers post this month, how you define a tender plant is really based on the area you live in.
In the United States, plants are classified into hardiness zones. These zones identify where plants are expected to be “hardy” or survive winter conditions. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) creates these zones and publishes a plant hardiness zone map (shown above). The map illustrates the average annual minimum winter temperature for different areas of the United States.
Plants are then labeled according to the zone they will thrive in. Plants identified as hardy in a zone do not need much attention. So, gardening with plants in a location where they can survive the annual minimum temperature is best.
However, growing plants that need warmer winter climates are susceptible to damage. These plants are now viewed as tender and require more attention during winter. Taking additional steps to cover plants with mulch or a protective covering, like, burlap is essential.
It’s also important to know that protective coverings must be managed. Covers should be removed when temperatures get warmer but put back in place if temperatures are expected to drop. What this means is, you must stay up-to-date with weather forecasts. Remember, tender plants can be damaged or killed if exposed to extreme weather.
This is particularly true if temperatures fluctuate, as they do in the southern part of the United States, in contrast, to most northern states where it remains cold and snowy.
Plants should be covered and protected before temperatures drop and winter weather sets in. Assessing plants after exposure to winter conditions could be too late.
But, did you know that despite being classified into zones, some plants perform outside of the zone parameters? This has created another category of plants, called half-hardy. You can learn more about these plants and what causes this unintended performance in our upcoming post, What are Half-Hardy Plants?, on March 8th.