Mr Skill

While indigenous shrubs sourced locally often survive a harsh Winter without any help from gardeners, tender plants with juicy stems from tropical climes must be wrapped to survive the cold. Although it is not difficult to do the job your self, this can be time-consuming. If in doubt or faced with many other things to do why not contact Mr-Skill for gardener quotes. The best time to do the job is in late Autumn, before the cold Winter arrives.

The material used for wrapping plants is burlap (a coarse weave of flax, hemp or jute fibres). You can buy this from your local hardware store by roll or length. If the sales clerk does not know what burlap is, tell them that it is the same as hessian, and that you want to wrap your plants for Winter in it. If you cannot source burlap locally, you could also try to find a gardener who could be prepared to sell some to you. I very much doubt though that professional gardeners in London would.

First, give your precious plants a good long drink before you bed them down for Winter. The easiest way to do this is to let the hose trickle slowly until the ground is thoroughly soaked. You could also use a watering can or bucket to add the water slowly without letting it run away.

Second, cut a piece of burlap to size and lay it around the shrub at ground level, remembering that you will pull it upwards later so that you do not move the branches out of shape. This will take a little practice to get right. If the piece of burlap turns out to be too small, lay it aside for a smaller plant, and start again.

Third, pull the burlap up around the plant to make a tight bundle that hides every part of it. Where it overlaps, and at the top, use string or nails to attach it to itself. Make sure that the bundle remains tight while doing this, or it could slip down later. That’s all there is to wrapping plants.

Where would you be without Mr-Skill? You just need to find a gardener now to help you wrap your precious plants.