We’ve now officially entered into winter a month ago, although in my mind, typically winter starts around Canadian Thanksgiving or Halloween (in a good year). Regardless, we’re still at least a couple of months or more from the end of winter.

In my opinion, this is where the highest level of risk lies for the perennial plants that we grow. I’ll tell you why I think the plants are most at risk now.

First off, if we get a repeat of the weather that the past several years has thrown at us, we can expect at least one long, hard cold snap over the next month. With the milder weather that we’ve been experiencing, I’m concerned that plants aren’t going to be sitting at their peak level of cold hardiness and winter acclimation. So, there is the potential for some winter injury to occur, whether it be desiccation injury, cracking, crown or bud death, dieback, or something else. Unprotected plants might show some symptoms in the spring. Hopefully not.

Second, now is likely when the rodents and the other little fluffy critters (and the not so small or fluffy ones) will start looking more aggressively for food. Some will forage on the surface, feeding and browsing on bark, shoot tips and branches. Others will expand their network of tunnels under the snow, feeding on roots and the bases of plants.

What can be done?

Frankly, there is little to nothing that can be done about the weather at this point, other than noting the specifics to help with correlation down the road. If you notice that some of your lower perennials (such as strawberries) are less covered than you might like (and you didn’t have straw on), you could add a field cover, try to encourage snow capture going forward with some sort of wind barrier, or you could add straw. Then, based on what you see, make plans for next year, including snow fencing, covers, straw, etc.

I think that you should take a walk (or cross-country ski or snowshoe or whatever takes your fancy) through your fields and orchards to assess the relative snow depth and how deeply asleep the plants seem to be. If you notice any sort of abnormal early spring-type behavior, like bud swelling/breaking, note those areas, and then be sure to go back in spring to see what happened. It’ll give you a baseline to compare to in future. Note any winter damage that has already occurred, whether it be due to cold or simply physical injury that has already occurred (due to wind, or whatever).

For the challenges with critters, see what you can do to deter or expose them to natural harm. Put up deterrents in likely spots, encourage the dogs to take a hike through the orchard at different times, and be present yourself, when you can. Skiing or snowmobiling along the orchard rows might compress the snow a bit and thwart the out-of-site creatures.

Realistically, we are at the mercy of nature, however, if we take the time to assess and observe, we’ll have more information to make accurate, fact-based decisions and corrections in future, if they are required.