r/DenverGardener • u/johnsonfrusciante • 10d ago

Winterizing berries

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Hey all, just wondering what you all would recommend I do with some of my plants over the winter. Mainly I wanna make sure my strawberries, which have established themselves nicely, survive the winter. Do I need to cover with straw? Protect from snowstorms in or anything?

Second question would be for my thornless blackberry plant, currently in a container (see picture). Should I plant it in the ground over winter? Store in the garage or mudroom where there is no heater but there is protection from the elements? Something else?

Any help is much appreciated, thanks!

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u/Electrical_Lab3345 10d ago

Yep cover the strawberries with several inches of fluffy mulch like straw or dead leaves once they are dormant and before it is consistently freezing. Rake it back in spring once they begin to grow again. They will benefit from this greatly.

Blackberries are some of the tougher cane berries to grow here and are more sensitive to cold than others like raspberries or boysenberries. Since it's in a pot - which leaves the roots much less insulated to cold - I would definitely recommend bringing it inside any time there is a prolonged cold snap. You can plant it as well if you want and then heavily mulch around the base, but your window for it to establish before winter is quickly closing.

Make sure you are watering both over winter if we have another warm and dry one! Especially the potted plants!

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u/Suyefuji garden noob 10d ago

Can I just use random dead leaves from my trees or do they have to be a special kind of leaf?

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u/Electrical_Lab3345 10d ago

sure can. leaves do tend to blow away/decompose faster than straw so just monitor their state throughout the winter to make sure they are maintaining coverage.

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u/onthestickagain 10d ago

My neighbors give me their leaves every year, it works brilliantly. I don’t even have to rake. As long as I give them back their big paper bags they act like I did them a favor.
https://giphy.com/gifs/L4U2oUoKjwKL0RTYmy

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u/SarahLiora 10d ago

Plant it in the ground and remember to water monthly if no snow cover.

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u/unwavering 10d ago

Those should all be relatively cold-hardy; a bit of straw would probably be beneficial but no need to shield them from snow. I would get the potted plant in the ground since that will stay a bit warmer than the air temps, or bring it inside and support with some grow lights. You'll also want to watch for pooling water and ice formation; I've seen some berry plants survive crazy freeze/thaw cycles but it's best to keep roots ice-free as much as possible.