Gardening in Cold Climates

From bad soil, lack of rain and short growing seasons to heavy snows and unexpected frosts this doesn’t make for easy gardening. Learn to meet the challenges!


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  • Topic: Cold Hardy Gardens
  • Author: Cindy Bellinger
  • Keywords: Gardening in Cold Climates
  • Date: October 2005

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For years I’ve scratched out a garden in the mountains of Northern New Mexico. And from all the notes readers send in, many hardy souls are also living at 7500 feet or higher. Zones 3 and 4 make for another world.

Meeting the Challenges

From bad soil, lack of rain and short growing seasons to heavy snows and unexpected frosts this doesn’t make for easy gardening. But no matter where you live a lot of gardening is about meeting challenges.

The main limitation in high altitudes is usually lack of soil. Plants require enough soil to establish a root system that will furnish adequate moisture, air, and nutrients. Limit landscapes to areas where adequate soil can be created. Plants will not thrive in bedrock even when they have been chosen correctly for their microclimate.

Determine Microclimates

Sites will vary considerably due to microclimates, where weather patterns and growing conditions differ. Typical microclimates include:

  • open and exposed to sun and wind
  • sunny but sheltered
  • deep shaded
  • canopied

Choosing Plants

The best plants suited to your area are the natives. Take a look around. Natural plants know best where to grow.

  • Plants in open and exposed to lots of sun and wind generally have small leaves and flowers, an adaptation that often allows them to escape leaf burn. Perennials include Penstemons, Mexican Hat, Boltonia, Blue Flax, Asters, Gaillardia, Yarrow, Tanacetum, Nepeta, Thyme, Sulfur Buckwheat.
  • Plants in sunny but wind sheltered areas generally can be one zone warmer than listed. Perennials include Purple Coneflower, Jupiter’s Beard, Evening Primrose, Coreopsis, May Night Salvia, Solidago, Oriental Poppy, Delphinium, Shasta Daisy.
  • Plants in shady areas like the extra moisture but take care in selecting those that can tolerate frozen ground for weeks at a time. Perennials include Columbine, Lungwort, False Nettle, Ornamental Comfrey, Daffodils and other shade loving bulbs.
  • Plants in canopied areas like protection, and the soil here has a higher degree of organic matter with mulches of leaves or needles. Perennials include Vinca, Saponaria, Veronica, Columbine, Whipple’s Penstemon..

For other cold climate, high altitude plants go to our easy-to-use Plant Finder. Just type in your zone and locate the types of plants appropriate for you region.

Keep Plants Healthy

Winter can be deceitful in higher altitudes. When plants go dormant they look anything but alive. But during the fall and winter all the energy in a plant recedes from the top growth and settles underground. Within plant cells there’s a higher concentration of chemically-bound water. This helps the elasticity of the protoplasm, which is what makes a plant remain resilient during freezing.

  • Fertilize in the fall—What gives a plant the ability to withstand the cold is the absorption of essential elements from the soil such as iron and zinc. So use a low nitrate fertilizer with trace minerals such as Yum Yum Mix® ‘Winterizer’ Organic Fertilizer.
  • Don’t forget to water—What kills plants more than cold temperatures is lack of water in the winter. Again, plants may look dead but they need moisture to continue the chemical processes going on in the cells.
  • Use a frost blanket—If a freak cold snap hits, be prepared to drape plants with a frost blanket. A few degrees will make all the difference.

There’s nothing like living in colder climes. The air brisker and fires in the woodstove become a nightly ritual. And when the snow falls, how pleasant to know your plants are comfy too. For more information on high altitude gardening go to our on-line library.

Katherine O’Brien, Nursery Manager and Landscape Consultant for Santa Fe Greenhouses, contributed to this article.