If there’s one thing Martha Stewart is going to do, it’s winterize her garden with the same energy the rest of us save for scrolling social media. Each year, she wraps her outdoor plantsespecially her beloved boxwoods and containersin tidy layers of burlap before the snow flies. It looks a little like the plants are putting on custom-designed coats. The question is: should you be out there wrapping your shrubs and pots, too, or is this one of those “celebrity estate” things that doesn’t really apply to your backyard?

Good news: you don’t need a staff, a mansion, or a TV contract to give your plants solid winter protection. But you also don’t necessarily need to cover everything. The trick is understanding when covering plants is helpful, when it’s overkill, and what smart alternatives can keep your garden alive and well until spring.

Why Martha Stewart Wraps Her Plants in Burlap

Martha Stewart has shared that she covers many of her outdoor plants and planters in winter using burlap rather than plastic. Burlap is breathable, reusable, and gentle on plants while still blocking harsh wind and sun. On her property, this practice is mainly about:

• Shielding evergreens from windburn (those brown, crispy patches you see in late winter).
• Reducing freeze–thaw stress on plant roots and on the pots themselves.
• Protecting containers from cracking when water in the soil expands as it freezes.

Her approach lines up with advice from many garden experts for colder climates, especially in areas where winter brings strong wind, icy storms, and fluctuating temperatures. Instead of babying every plant, though, she focuses on vulnerable ones: boxwood hedges, potted shrubs, and tender or expensive specimens that would be annoyingand costlyto replace.

So the real takeaway isn’t “cover everything.” It’s more like: protect what’s vulnerable, in a way that fits your climate and your garden.

Do You Need to Cover Your Outdoor Plants for the Winter?

Before you go shopping for burlap by the roll, you need to ask three key questions:

1. What is my climate?
2. What kind of plants do I have?
3. How exposed is my garden?

1. Your Climate (USDA Zone Matters)

In colder regionsthink USDA zones 3–6winter temperatures routinely drop well below freezing, and wind, ice, and long-lasting snowpack are common. In those areas, covering certain plants can be a game-changer, especially newly planted shrubs, evergreens, and container plants. In milder zones (7–9 and up), many hardy plants can ride out winter with little more than mulch and basic care.

Another important factor: temperature swings. If your winter is a roller coastercold one week, weirdly warm the nextyour plants’ roots and stems endure constant expansion and contraction, which can damage cells and roots. Covers, mulch, or both can buffer that stress.

2. Your Plants (Not All Green Things Are Equal)

Some plants shrug off snow; others melt down at the first frost. You’re most likely to benefit from covering plants if they are:

• Newly planted trees and shrubs (their root systems are shallow and not well established).
• Broadleaf evergreens like boxwood, rhododendron, and holly, which can get winter burn from cold winds and winter sun.
• Mediterranean or borderline hardy plants that are technically outside your zone but you planted them anyway because they’re gorgeous.
• Container plants, where roots are more exposed to air temperature and freeze faster than roots in the ground.

On the other hand, many cold-hardy perennials, ornamental grasses, and native shrubs are designed to handle winter with no special coverings. They might look dead above ground, but their roots are fine. For them, mulch and good siting may be all the protection they need.

3. Exposure (Wind, Road Salt, and Full Sun)

Even in the same neighborhood, two gardens can have totally different winter realities. You may want to cover plants if they are:

• Next to a busy road where salt spray can burn foliage and soil.
• In a windy, unprotected spot such as a hill, corner lot, or open field.
• On a rooftop or balcony, where containers are fully exposed to wind and cold.
• In dark-colored or thin-walled pots that heat up and cool down quickly.

Plants snug against a south-facing brick wall may barely flinch at February. Those in the middle of the yard, facing the north wind, might need extra help.

Smart Ways to Protect Plants Without Overdoing It

Covering is only one piece of the winter-care puzzle. Think of it as the outer coat in a whole outfit of winter protection that includes mulch, water, and good timing.

1. Mulch the Roots Generously

Many university extension services recommend adding about 3–4 inches of organic mulchlike shredded bark, compost, or leavesaround the base of trees and shrubs to insulate roots and reduce temperature swings in the soil. The key detail: keep mulch a few inches away from the trunk to prevent rot and pest problems.

This simple step does a lot of heavy lifting. Mulch:

• Helps keep soil temperatures more stable.
• Protects roots from freeze–thaw cycles.
• Reduces erosion and nutrient loss in bare soil over winter.

If you only do one “Martha-style” thing this year, make it mulching. It’s not glamorous, but it’s effective.

2. Time Your Covers with the Weather

It’s tempting to wrap everything up as soon as you see your first frost meme on social media, but covers work best when you wait for consistently cold weather. Many experts suggest taking action when nighttime lows regularly drop into the low 30s°F and you’re past the point of warm fall rebounds.

Covering too early can:

• Trap heat and moisture, encouraging disease.
• Prevent plants from naturally hardening off to cooler temperatures.

Covering too late, of course, means your plants get zapped before they have protection. The sweet spot is often after a few hard frosts but before deep, extended cold in late fall.

3. Choose the Right Materials

Not all plant covers are created equal. Here’s a quick guide:

• Burlap: Breathable, reusable, and a Martha-approved classic. Great for wrapping shrubs or creating a simple screen around plants.
• Frost cloth / row cover: Lightweight fabric designed specifically to let light and water through while buffering frost. Ideal for veggie beds and low-growing perennials.
• Old sheets or blankets: Good for emergency frosts. Just remember to remove them during the day so plants don’t overheat.
• Bubble wrap or insulation for pots: Wrap the outside of containers to protect roots and prevent cracking, rather than wrapping the plant foliage itself.

Plastic tarps are not a great idea directly on foliage. They can trap moisture and create a mini sauna on sunny days, which is the exact opposite of what you want.

4. Focus on Container Plants

If you grow shrubs, perennials, or small trees in pots, they are always more vulnerable in winter than the same plant in the ground. The root ball is surrounded by exposed air on all sides, which means it can freeze solid in a deep cold snap.

To protect them, you can:

• Move containers into unheated garages, sheds, or enclosed porches where temperatures stay a little higher than outside but still cool.
• Group pots together near a wall and wrap the whole cluster with burlap or frost cloth for shared insulation.
• Sink pots into the ground for winter, then dig them up in spring.
• Wrap the pots in burlap, blankets, or bubble wrap to protect both roots and container walls.

This is exactly the kind of situation where copying Martha is smart. Protecting containers is often worth the effort because pots are expensiveand so are the plants inside them.

Common Mistakes People Make When Covering Plants

Even with the best intentions, winter protection can backfire. Try to avoid these common missteps:

1. Leaving Covers on All Winter Without Airflow

Plants still need to breathe. If you’re using heavy cloth or makeshift materials, keep them loosely draped and avoid creating a sealed pocket where moisture builds up. In milder climates, it’s often better to cover plants only during specific cold snaps rather than all season long.

2. Using Plastic Directly on Foliage

Plastic traps moisture and can create extreme temperatures just under the surface on sunny days. If you must use itfor example, to keep rain off a structuremake sure there’s breathable fabric between plastic and the plant, and allow for ventilation.

3. Forgetting the Roots and Only Covering the Top

It’s easy to fixate on what you can see, but in winter, roots are the VIPs. Don’t skip mulch. A plant can lose some leaves and still bounce back. If its roots freeze deeply, that’s a different story.

4. Ignoring Watering Before the Ground Freezes

Dry soil gets colder, faster. Giving your garden a deep watering before the ground freezes can help protect roots and reduce frost penetration. Just don’t keep watering once the soil has frozen solidthat won’t help and can cause other problems.

So…Should You Be More Like Martha?

The short answer: maybe, but in a targeted way.

You probably don’t need to wrap every single shrub on your property. But you might want to:

• Mulch beds and the base of young trees and shrubs.
• Cover or move vulnerable container plants.
• Wrap sensitive evergreens with burlap in windy, exposed spots.
• Use frost cloth or row cover on vegetables and tender perennials during cold snaps.

Think of Martha’s garden as the “maximalist” version of winter prep. Your job is to scale that concept to your yard, budget, and energy level. Protect what truly needs it, accept that some plants are seasonal, and give yourself permission to skip wrapping the shrub that has survived ten winters already without drama.

Real-World Experiences: What Winter Plant Protection Looks Like in Practice

Advice is great, but nothing beats lived experience. Gardeners who experiment with winter covers quickly figure out what works in their yardsand what’s just Instagram content.

The Gardener Who Wrapped Everything (Once)

Picture this: first year in a new home, energy levels high, gardening books stacked by the bed. One enthusiastic gardener decides to wrap nearly every shrub and rose bush in burlap, plus haul out old sheets for perennials “just in case.” The yard looks like a patch of friendly ghosts all winter.

By spring, here’s what they learn:

• The plants that truly benefited were new shrubs and the exposed boxwoods along the driveway.
• The roses would have survived with just mulch and selective pruning.
• Some perennials actually did worse where soggy covers trapped moisture against the stems.

The next year, they scaled back, protecting only the most vulnerable plants and focusing heavily on mulch and smart siting. The result: just as many survivors, way less work, and no ghost garden.

The Balcony Gardener Who Discovered the Power of Grouping

Container gardening on a balcony or rooftop feels glamorousuntil January. One city gardener realized her potted herbs and dwarf shrubs were struggling each winter, even though they were rated hardy for her zone. The missing piece? Those zone ratings assume the plant is in the ground, not in a pot surrounded by icy air on all sides.

After a few seasons of trial and error, she landed on a simple routine:

• Move the most fragile plants into an unheated stairwell or enclosed porch.
• Cluster the remaining pots in the most sheltered balcony corner.
• Wrap the outside of the pot cluster with burlap and a reusable frost blanket.
• Add a thick layer of mulch on top of the soil in each pot.

The difference was dramatic. Instead of replanting half the balcony each spring, she only lost the occasional borderline plantand her soil, pots, and budget all lasted longer.

The Homeowner Battling Road Salt

If your shrubs live along a salted street or driveway, you know winter damage can be brutal. One homeowner noticed their boxwoods were browning on just one side every springthe side facing the road. Mulch helped with roots, but foliage was still taking a beating.

The solution was to put up a simple burlap screen each winter between the shrubs and the street, using stakes and a roll of burlap. The screen didn’t wrap the shrubs directly; it just intercepted wind and salt spray. Combined with careful spring watering and pruning, the shrubs started to grow full and green again.

This is a great example of tailored protection: you don’t have to copy Martha’s full-wrap approach if your main issue is salt, not deep cold.

Learning to Accept Some Winter Losses

Here’s the reality even Martha would agree with: you cannot save everything. Occasionally a plant is just in the wrong place, the wrong zone, or the wrong mood. Part of becoming a relaxed, confident gardener is learning which plants are worth fussing over and which ones you’re okay experimenting with.

Many gardeners use winter losses as a nudge to reassess:

• Is this plant truly suited to my zone and microclimate?
• Would a hardier species be just as beautiful with far less work?
• Do I want a garden that needs heavy winter covering every year, or something more low-maintenance?

In that sense, deciding whether to “be like Martha” isn’t just about burlap. It’s about your gardening personality. If you love the ritual of wrapping, checking, and carefully unveiling plants each spring, embrace it. If you’d rather mulch, say a kind word to your shrubs, and go back inside with hot cocoa, that’s valid too.

Final Thoughts

Martha Stewart’s winter plant routine gives us a glamorous glimpse of what full-scale garden protection can look like. But you don’t need an estateor a crewto apply the underlying principles to your own yard.

Start by understanding your climate, your plants, and your garden’s exposure. Give roots what they crave: mulch, moisture before the ground freezes, and reasonably stable temperatures. Then decide which plants truly deserve extra protection from wind, salt, and deep cold.

If that means a few well-placed burlap wraps and some insulated pots, congratulationsyou’re doing the practical, scaled-down version of Martha’s ritual. And if anyone asks why your shrubs are wearing winter coats, you can just say, “Martha does it,” and walk away like a gardening icon.

The post Martha Stewart Covers Her Outdoor Plants for the WinterShould You Too? appeared first on Blobhope Family.