How to protect plants over the winter

Monitor your garden for animal damage during the winter and install protection as needed. Look for gnawed bark at the base of trees and shrubs.

Rabbits can cause considerable damage over the course of winter by feeding on shrubs. As snow piles up, rabbits can reach higher and higher to eat. Chicken wire will work well to exclude them.

Hanging soap or hair in branches generally will not work as a deterrent for deer browsing. Use physical barriers such as wire or netting to protect plants from deer.

Yews and arborvitae are deer favorites and will likely be browsed in areas where deer are active.

• Carefully shake snow off plants during heavy wet storms to minimize damage. Once the snow or ice has frozen on, it is best to let it melt off. Removing frozen snow or ice from plants can cause considerable damage.

Try to avoid piling up snow at the base of plants when shoveling by more evenly spreading the snow around as you shovel.

• If you have a home greenhouse, it is a good idea to clear it out and wash all of the pots, trays and benches. Cleaning your greenhouse thoroughly will reduce pest problems next year.

Wash the windows inside and out to allow maximum light in over the winter if you are planning to grow plants over the winter. Scrub benches, fixtures and glazing bars with a disinfectant such as one part bleach to nine parts water to help reduce disease problems. Be sure to thoroughly hose off all surfaces when finished scrubbing.

• There are two approaches to managing the fuel left in four- and two-cycle engines.

One option is to drain the fuel out of the gas tank and run the engine to get all of the fuel out of the fuel lines and carburetor. Fuel that sits for a long period of time ages and residues can form that may plug the small fuel jets in the carburetor and removing the gasoline eliminates this problem.

The other option is to fill the tank and add a gas stabilizer into the gas tank and run the engine to get the treated gas into the carburetor. If you are using a gas that has ethanol in it, then it is important to use a stabilizer that is made to eliminate corrosion associated with alcohol fuels.

• Tim Johnson is director of horticulture at Chicago Botanic Garden, chicagobotanic.org.