5 ways to help your local ecosystem in midwinter

Seasonally-timed, ecological gardening advice for the Outer Piedmont of the Southeast

Hello and welcome to this eerily warm season of returning to and trying out new routines. December is always a lot, and for me, I worked around the clock until I couldn’t on things that I’m very excited for and tired from: designs, installations, and stormwater classes through NCSU’s engineering departments. So, this is a midwinter list instead of an early winter list. It’s not mid, though, I promise.

I am convinced that people who think winter landscapes are bleak just haven’t seen biodiversity. If all I knew was lawn and cube-shaped shrubs, I’d probably feel that way too. Nothing really happens in that kind of landscape, except chores. Even in dormancy, my corner of the world is full of life. Just yesterday I watched a goldfinch eat from a dried purple coneflower stalk in my backyard. Do not deny yourself this pleasure (remember, wait until spring to cut flower stems back, not just because feeding birds is adorable, but because stems are important habitat for some very cute, tiny bees). 

Winter also plays an important part in Earth’s water cycle. It’s the time of year when our water table and aquifers are recharged. If the ground is a sponge, in winter, it sops up moisture, and in summer, it gets wrung out (into the atmosphere). Lower temperatures mean less evaporation off the soil’s surface. Plus, there are way fewer leaves releasing moisture into the air (aka transpiration) because they’ve already fallen for the year. In summer, it’s the opposite: evapotranspiration brings water from the ground into the atmosphere, naturally shrinking the water table. Absorb, release. Inhale, exhale. 

I wish I could stop this bit here, but I’m afraid it gets more complicated with climate change. With increasing global temperatures and demands on ground water, we’re seeing an increase in evaporation, and therefore, shrinking of ground water. Storm patterns are shifting, too. As I’m sure you’ve noticed, storms are getting bigger, and the dry periods between them are getting longer. When we don’t have the capacity to capture rain, that water is diverted into (outdated, crumbling) city infrastructure, which empties into rivers, which empty into oceans, skipping the water table altogether. 

This is, in part, to convince you to absorb more stormwater on your land, rather than unintentionally divert it into infrastructure and oceans or your neighbors’ houses. Designing for these issues—not just with site-appropriate plants, but to strategically, collectively do our part in capturing stormwater—is so important. There are many ways to do this, and I’ll write about them in the future. There are also many ways to deal with challenging the power structures that support awful land practices on massive scales. For today, we’ll address one of the easiest ways to improve your stormwater at home: planting.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Plant now • How to water in winter • Try winter sowing • Manage disruptive plants •

Don’t worry about native plants freezing

Plant now

Plants provide friction to stormwater runoff, slowing it down and giving it a chance to soak in the ground. Leaves capture rain. Roots improve soil infiltration. And above ground growth shields the soil below and provides shade, decreasing temperatures and preventing surface-level evaporation. The thing is, in order to make your landscape more drought tolerant, you have to invest in initial (thoughtful) watering for first year plant establishment. (Winter watering guide below.) After the first year, provide water only as needed in times of severe drought.

Our soil doesn’t freeze, so we can work the ground throughout winter. Low light hours and cold temperatures cue plants to focus on their roots. Planting during this dormant period can result in more resilient, better looking plants. This is why I prefer to plant (and always transplant) trees and shrubs in late fall through winter. That is, as long as they can get enough water, especially during those first few months in the ground. Also, mulching ensures that low temperatures don’t creep into the ground and moisture doesn’t creep out. Don’t forget this step!

Perennials are harder to find this time of year, in part because nurseries have a hard time selling plants that don’t look alive. You can still plant them, though. I know it looks tacky, but I’d recommend temporarily leaving a tag or marker in the ground if you’re planting dormant perennials so that you don’t forget where they are, just until they’re more visible.

How to water in winter

Typically, January offers enough rain to water new plants, but this one, like 2025, is looking to be relatively, mildly dry, according to North Carolina State’s climate blog. The problem this poses for gardeners has to do with freezing temperatures—most people wisely turn off their irrigation and exterior spigots over the winter. But, if you’ve planted anything this past year, or are planting soon, you’ll need to water this month. So, set reminders to cut off exterior water when temperatures drop back down and keep an eye on the weather. The next two weeks, at least, are looking pretty mild.

How to water for plant establishment in winter

Where: water soil deeply for roots to drink from and stretch down into; don’t water foliage/stems

When: morning - early afternoon, so soil and roots can absorb well before temps drop low at night

Frequency: if you’re seeing less than 1” rain/week, water twice/week in the first month after planting, then once/week through spring. Check a couple inches below the soil for moisture if you’re unsure. If that feels dry, water.

Volume:

• Hand watering: for 1st year plants, match their pot size in water volume, so gallon-sized plants get 1 gallon of water, 3-gallon plants get 3 gallons of water, etc. Groundcover plants need the surrounding ground to be thoroughly soaked.

• Irrigating: 1” of water for perennials and 1.5” for trees and shrubs per watering

• In a 3 week+ drought, water mature trees: run a hose gently a few feet from the trunk and move it every 20 minutes to cover the circumference

Try winter sowing

“Winter sowing” is a relatively hands off method for starting seeds in containers. Basically, you sow seeds into growing medium in covered, ventilated containers (I like foil roasters), and leave them outside in a shady spot until the weather warms up. From there, you plant or transplant into bigger pots. It’s ideal for people who can’t sow directly into the ground (stiltgrass makes this hard for a lot of people). I took a workshop on it some years back taught by Laura Markson of Nurture Native Nature, and I’ve had way more successes than failures with it. Here is her intro blog post on it and subsequent FAQ and follow up for more info. Just remember to label your projects well!

In the past, I’ve used distinct containers or sections per species, and I’ll do that some this year. But I also want to try winter sowing with plant communities—perennials that like the same conditions and grow together naturally. Inspired by Meadow Lab’s wildflower sod, I’m hoping to produce small sections of plant communities or mini meadows. If it works, I’ll try them with the method of meadow expansion that I wrote about last year.

Manage disruptive plants

With so much deciduous foliage out of the way, now is the ideal time to target the disruptive species we can see, especially while they’re relatively easy to get to, like winter creeper, English Ivy, and liriope/monkey grass/mondo grass. Bag and throw them away—they will reroot if left on the ground. They’re easier to pull with some moisture in the ground, so do it after a rain or water the area the day before. For liriope, if you’re dealing with plants that are spread out, I like a Grampa’s Weeder-style tool because it’s easier on the wrists; other people like a hand hoe or Hori Hori knife. For dense mats, nothing gets in there quite like a Root Slayer. (I’m not paid to promote these; I just know the importance of using the right tools).

Cut off, bag, and throw away nandina berries. Get rid of the shrubs altogether if you can, but if that’s not possible, at least remove the seeds. They’re poisonous to birds, and because there aren’t huge swathes of ideal bird food sources like native flowers, grasses, and berry-laden shrubs all around us, birds are hungry and taking what they can find.

Don’t worry about native plants freezing

It’s normal for people to worry about freezing temperatures damaging plants, but a lot of this comes from traditional horticulture information about non-native plants. Our outer piedmont natives evolved here, so they can handle our temperature ranges. Don't worry about low temperatures damaging native plants in the ground. If we have a big drop (below 20°F), then I’d protect anything in pots that you haven’t gotten around to planting – bundle in protective cloth or bring inside.

I hope this was helpful! I cover more practical ecological tips in my consults. Reach out to me if you’d like more site-specific, in-depth guidance on how you can make your land ecologically healthier, prettier, and lower maintenance.

Thank you for reading,

Alex Lampert

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