Pear trees in the garden usually do not need protection in winter. But pear trees in pots do. After all, frost can really get to the trees.
Pear trees are not among the frost-sensitive plants and usually survive the winter unscathed.
However, precaution is advisable when cultivating pear trees in pots. If you don't protect the tree properly, you have to expect that it will be damaged by the cold. So you have to pay attention to a few points so that the tree survives the cold season well.
How to properly protect the sapling in winter
Your pear tree only has limited space in the tub to develop roots. Therefore, frost can completely seize the roots after a short time and deprive the tree of the opportunity to supply itself with water. If the frost persists, there is a risk that your pear tree will literally die of thirst. How to avert this danger:
Insulate bucket:
Wrap the bucket with two layers of straw, coconut or jute mats. Alternatively, you can also use bubble wrap or foam, but the visual effect is not very appealing. The insulation with natural materials, on the other hand, looks attractive and decorative.
Raise pear tree:
Cold air takes on temperature changes much faster than a frozen ground. Therefore, create a space between the bucket and the ground. This works well with two thick wooden boards: place the bucket on the boards so that there is a cavity between them. Then, when the temperature rises above freezing, the roots warm up too.
Cover soil in bucket:
You can also protect the roots from above. Cover the soil in the bucket with a layer of organic material. Bark mulch is perfect for this and offers an additional advantage: during the frost-free days, nutrients reach the roots, which are immediately available to the pear tree at the beginning of the growing season.
Don't forget to water:
The best protection of the roots is in vain if you forget yourWatering a pear tree in winter. However, the water requirement is much lower than in summer. Therefore, water regularly on frost-free days, but only very sparingly.
Above all, make sure that the process runs smoothly. If you place the bucket on two boards with space between them, as described above, you have already solved this problem.
Protect Bark:
The combination of severe frost and direct sunlight often causes the bark of young fruit trees to burst open. Therefore place the pot in the shade and cover the trunk and the thicker branches with fir branches.
If the effort is too much for you, you can also paint it white with milk of lime, which you can get in well-stocked garden shops or here. At temperatures above freezing, simply apply the milk of lime with a wide brush. An additional advantage of this method: the lime not only protects the bark from frost, but also prevents moss from settling on the tree.