Tools needed
- Ergonomic bypass pruning shears
- Garden gloves
Materials needed
- Organic pine straw mulch
- Burlap plant wraps
- Garden twine
Step-by-step
- 1
Wait until the plant is dormant after the first frosts.
- 2
Remove dead or damaged stems with clean bypass shears.
- 3
Trim woody herbs by no more than a third to avoid stressing them.
- 4
Mound pine straw mulch over the root zone.
- 5
Wrap tender shrubs in burlap, securing loosely with twine.
Common mistakes
- • Hard-pruning woody herbs into old bare wood
- • Wrapping so tightly that air can't circulate
Maintenance & next steps
Remove wraps in early spring once hard frosts pass.
When to call a professional
For mature specimen shrubs or formal hedges needing shaping expertise.
Editor's note: This is instructional content for How to Prune Perennial Herbs and Plants for Winter. Replace with your own firsthand experience and photos before publishing.
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