The Common Mistake That's Hurting Your Plants During Heavy Winds

Strong winds can wreak havoc on plants in your garden and in pots on the patio by snapping or bending their stalks. In certain situations for lanky plants like young trees, they could even be uprooted. Stakes paired with zip ties can keep climbing plants in check, plus they can help almost any tallish or top-heavy plants from bending too far in the wind, but there's a caveat: Tying the plants too tightly to their stakes could actually harm them. Certain textured materials like coarse rope or wire can dig into the plants when the wind hits, damaging their delicate stems, or even harming the trunk of a young tree. 

With trees, keeping them staked too tightly prevents their lower trunks from growing strong. In the wild, trees sway a bit and move with the wind, and this usually keeps them from snapping. In fact, many gardeners argue against staking young trees unless the absolutely need to be. If they grow up tightly attached to a stake during formative seasons, their trunks may not have the strength to withstand a strong wind later on. Inflexible zip ties or metal braces can also become an issue as a tree grows: As the trunk gets larger, the ties may girdle the tree, severely harming it.

Any plant with stems that snap easily, such as tomatoes, could benefit from staking to prevent wind damage, and also to help the plant stay upright without drooping down to the ground. If you can, use the stakes as mini-wind breaks by placing one on the side of the plant where prevailing winds come from. Place stakes near the plants you wish to protect, including flowers, then secure stems to the stakes with something gentle on the plants, such as flat garden tape or jute twine. Make a loose loop or figure 8 pattern, which is just a loop with a twist in the middle, so the plant has room to grow and move a little in the wind without the tie or tape cutting into it. You could also use the two-tie method, where the plant is loosely sandwiched between two, non-twisted, pieces of twine or tape.

As your plants grow, check them regularly to make sure the loop slides freely up the stake, and that it doesn't get stuck on parts of the plant branching out from the main stem. Planning your garden or setting your potted plants near a windbreak nearby also helps protect your favorite plants from the wind. A picket fence, lush shrubbery, or even walls of your house or garage all can help keep winds to a minimum. Grouping potted plants together near this sort of windbreak is also a simple trick to protect plants from frost when a quick cold snap is in the forecast.