What does wrapping up bushes in the winter do?

Are you kidding? Have you never wrapped your bushes before? Didn't your parents do it?

So that ice and snow don't snap the branches.

Citrus trees in particular can be very sensitive to frost/freeze. I live in Northern CA and when there is a likely frost/freeze here, people wrap their citrus trees to prevent damage.

Are they supposed to be wrapped up all winter? Is it all bushes or only certain types?

I’ve never wrapped bushes yet they all survive just fine year after year

It protects specific species from things like front burn, branch damage, etc. Also, some people fill up the “tube with tons of leaves to keep root systems warmer in harsh months.

OP, you’re funny. Do you think people do it just for fun?

I like a warm bush!

It’s très ra sha sha.

R5, it just didn’t make much sense as I’ve always had the same bushes my neighbors do. I’ve never wrapped them and they always do. Our bushes look exactly the same each year

I prefer when a Bush is unwrapped for easier access!

Ellen's bush is cold and needs pruning.

Wrapping evergreens in New England was a thing from my grandparents time.

It doesn't do much and unwrapped bushes seem to be just fine.

I’m way too lazy to wrap a bush.

Many people do it in Chicago for their roses.

I just wear thermals to wrap mine. Much more comfortable than a bag.

You can also bury trees.

It's a way to protect them against frost. I remember my mom's bougainvillea died one winter because of unusually cold weather. If you haven't done it and seen no ill effects, you've been lucky.

In Virginia, people wrap their palm trees. Because, you know, there should be palm trees in Virginia.

It’s a way to trick Mother Nature and reduce shock when your plant is in a challenging locational or situational geography.

There are many palms that can survive a bit of snow and some sub freezing temperatures. Palm trees are very ornamental and there's no reason to avoid them in a climate that can support them over the years. They can be grown in microclimates as well. Along lakes that never freeze, for example (see Northern Italy just below the alps, and Switzerland's lakes) and in coastal regions hit by the Gulf Stream, for example. They can, however, turn into an invasive species, so there's that. Trachycarpus fortunei (Chinese windmill palm) is an invasive species now in Ticino in Switzerland.

The thinking now on wrapping hedges is not to do it, rather to build a wind or road splash barrier with the burlap on one side. Use twine to bind bushes you don't want to snap in snow. Protect the grown with mulch. Wrapping young azaleas, rhododendron, camellia is still done but I see mature ones in parks in the snows doing fine. It's lovely to see camellias blooming in the snow.

I think it is wonderful that there is something called gardenia.net!

Wrapping is done primarily for woody shrubs and such that are in areas where they are not reliably hardy(e.g. rosemary in my neck of the woods, Philly. I'm keeping my fingers crossed because we've had some really brutal temps this Winter. It's survived the last few Winters because they've been relatively milder than this one) Yes, the wind can snap branches which may lead to dieback or allow microbes to enter and spread disease.

The wrapping can also cut down on moisture loss, as winds can draw moisture out of the leaves which dehydrates them and they'll pull up more water from their roots to re-establish levels. Plants need a certain amount of moisture, but good drainage, to survive the Winter. If it's very windy the moisture levels can become depleted and you might lose some plants.

I don't know if they're still manufactured or even suggested to be used, but anti-desiccant sprays used to be applied to 'iffy' plants to cut down on water loss due to windy conditions. Chemicals coat the leaves, sort of like waxing them, and provide some extra insurance against damaging winds. Anybody ever use this stuff? 🌳

When I grew up, there would always be some wealthy people who did this, but most people did not.

I never got the point till reading this thread. Still not sure I got it.

I have not seen wrapped bushes in over 25 years.

[quote]Are you kidding? Have you never wrapped your bushes before?

No, I haven’t.

I’ve trimmed them, even waxed them at one point, but I won’t do that again. Too painful. But I’ve never wrapped them. (Unless you include unnerbritches as a wrap.)

I believe in evolution. If a bush can’t make it through the winters here, it deserves to die

I frequently see wrapped evergreens wrapped in burlap during the winter.

These bushes are usually along a busy street which would be plowed and salted on snowy and icy days. Also be subject to the spray from the street when the ice and snow are treated with salt.

I have always assumed this was done to protect the bushes from the salt spray from the street.