How to cover rhododendron for the winter? How to make insulation for the plant with your own hands?

Often in the flower beds and flower beds you can see stunningly beautiful shrubs. Their flowers can be different: yellow, pink, lilac, violet, burgundy and others. This is rhododendron (azalea).

How to prepare a plant for wintering so that it can again please with its flowering? What is the most suitable shelter material?

Also in the article you will find instructions for making different types of shelters with your own hands.

Definition and importance of a protective structure

Shelter is a kind of "warming" of the plant in conditions of low temperatures and other adverse conditions in the cold season.

Why is it needed?

Shelter is necessary to prevent freezing, as well as to protect against drying out. The soil freezes, thereby depriving the roots of moisture, and green leaves continue to evaporate it. At this time, it is necessary to protect the rhododendron from wind and sun.

After the azalea is acclimatized and sufficiently strengthened, the need for shelter will depend on the variety, the general condition of the plant and weather conditions. Evergreen rhododendron varieties need shelter without failand deciduous have good frost resistance.

You can find out more about whether rhododendron should be covered for the winter in harsh Russian conditions here.

Covering material

How to keep the azalea in the garden in winter and what is better to cover it? The method of sheltering azaleas for the winter depends on the variety and age of the bush. We list the main ones:

1. Shelter from cardboard (boards, sticks).
2. Create a mini greenhouse.
3. Winter shelter with a cap.

Young shrubs of azaleas, as a rule, are covered with a cardboard box for the winter. Before sheltering, it is necessary to mulch well with peat or pine needles. For small rhododendron plants, you can build "houses" of spruce spruce branches.

In no case cannot be used for hiding azaleas hay or straw. In such material, the likelihood of rodents.

Some varieties of azalea require the creation of mini-greenhouses. They consist of a frame and a heater. As a covering material, as a rule, lutrasil and agrotex are used. In order to prevent moisture from entering the structure, a plastic film is used when building shelters.

Caps for sheltering rhododendrons for the winter can be bought in specialized stores. As a rule, they are made of durable agrofibre, which protects the plant from frost and the winter sun.

Buy or do it yourself?

To purchase a finished product from a special material, which will provide the most favorable microclimate for shrubs in the winter, is of course easier. But it is cheaper for some gardeners to make shelter from improvised material:

• fir spruce branches;
• polyethylene;
• cardboard;
• old clothes and stuff.

How to build a frame?

In winter, it is not allowed to tightly cover the rhododendron with any material. Under the weight of the snow, the buds of the plant may break. In order for the plant to not come into contact with the shelter, a frame is needed. For young shrubs and undersized varieties, planks can be used as a frame.

Step-by-step instructions on how to do it yourself

From cardboard

To make a shelter from cardboard, you will need the following materials:

• cardboard (or a cardboard box);
• polyethylene film;
• mulching material (peat or needles).

Here are the basic steps for making a shelter for rhododendron from cardboard:

1. First of all, mulching with a layer of acid peat or pine needles is performed around the azalea stem.
2. Then the bush is covered with cardboard. This must be done so that there is space between the cardboard and the plant. Contact between cardboard and azaleas is not allowed. For this, it is convenient to use a cardboard box.
3. To prevent getting wet cardboard, it is necessary to cover it with plastic wrap.
4. At the end of everything, holes are made on the side that will ensure air circulation inside the structure.

Mini greenhouse

To build a mini-greenhouse for rhododendron, you will need the following materials:

• boards or metal arcs;
• covering material (lutrasil or agrotex);
• polyethylene film;
• mulching material.

You need to act like this:

1. Before the onset of frost, it is necessary to mulch the soil with peat or needles.
2. In advance, without waiting for the freezing of the soil, it is necessary to establish an arc around the plant. The interval between them should be about 40 cm, and the distance from the crown to the frame should be at least 15-20 cm.
3. In late November - early December, when the air temperature will be around - 8-10 degrees, the frame is covered with insulation. To do this, 2 - 3 layers of lutrasil are superimposed on the arcs, and then the whole structure is covered with polyethylene.

Cap

Besides the fact that the cap can be bought, it can be made independently. Such a shelter is suitable for small shrubs of rhododendron. For the manufacture of the cap you will need the following materials:

• boards or metal arcs;
• polyethylene film;
• agrofibre (or lutrasil);
• mulching material (peat or needles).

Sequencing:

1. First of all, it is necessary to mulch the soil.
2. As a rule, for small plants it is advisable to use boards as a frame. They are installed around the shrub so that there is space between it and the covering material.
3. The wooden support is wrapped in agrofibre or lutrasil in several layers, and then covered with a plastic film.

How to strengthen the structure

The structure made of the frame and covering material is strengthened as follows:

1. One edge of lutrasil and the film is fixed with poured soil, brick or any other heavy object.
2. With the onset of severe frosts - below minus 10 degrees, the second edge of the shelter is fixed in the same way.
3. The design is checked for gaps.

Briefly about leaving

Caring for the rhododendron in the shelter is to properly prepare it for wintering. It is as follows:

• Mulching of the soil near the stem is mandatory. This procedure is needed by all types and varieties of rhododendron.
• Deciduous species are recommended to be sprinkled on 10 - 15 cm, if the height of the bush is more than 80 cm. If the bush is above 150 cm, it should be sprinkled on 20 - 25 cm with mulching material. As mulch, you can use peat, needles or foliage of oak, birch and linden.
• Fallen leaves, branches and rhododendron bark should not be removed. Together with the mulching layer, they serve as protection against frost and subsequently fertilize the soil.

Preserving rhododendron in winter is one of the most important elements in the cultivation of this wonderful plant. The appearance and splendor of flowering directly depend on proper winter storage.

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