Too early to wrap shrubs in burlap for winter? Zone 7a

Danni S.

5 years ago

Is it too early to wrap shrubs in burlap for the winter? Thanks.

Zone 7a Mass.

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Comments (4)

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
5 years ago
I can't imagine a need to wrap any shrubs in burlap in zone 7, provided they are hardy for your location. What types of shrubs are you considering? And are you sure that is your correct zone designation?? Seems rather high to me for MA.............
NHBabs z4b-5a NH
5 years ago
Out on the Cape and Islands has some zone 7 I think.

What is your goal for wrapping the shrubs and what kind of shrubs are they?

I live in NH and don’t wrap any of my plants, but in some areas multistemmed evergreens may splay under heavy wet snow as is common on the Cape.
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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
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if you are zone pushing plants for warmer zones ... i might consider doing such ....

if you are doing it for deer protection .... do it before the deer start wandering.. usually due to hunting season ...

if they are zone appropriate.. or even colder tolerant stock.. i wouldnt bother ...

in my ground freeze area.. i have to do it.. while i can still pound the stakes in .... i am sure that isnt an issue for you .. lol ..

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claireplymouth z6b coastal MA
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
I'm in southern Plymouth, MA, on the coast just 5 miles north of the Cape Cod Canal. Some of my yard is probably zone 7a, other parts are probably zone 6b (nasty winter winds often with minimal snow cover).

I've started to cover two shrubs because of some nights below freezing even though there are warmish daytime temperatures. As Ken pointed out, it's important to get stakes in the ground before the ground freezes (it does freeze here too, just not so deep). They're forecasting a hard freeze tonight.

The two shrubs are a variegated hydrangea and a Hopi crape myrtle. The hydrangea sometimes, but rarely, blooms but usually dies to the ground if not protected. The crape myrtle is marginal, It's not in an optimal location but I didn't have much choice because of the nasty winter winds.

Both of these shrubs (the crape myrtle is really a small tree) leaf out beautifully in the spring when they've been covered over the winter.

As others have said, it really depends on the identity of the shrubs to be covered.

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Too early to wrap shrubs in burlap for winter? Zone 7a

Comments (4)

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)

NHBabs z4b-5a NH

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