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How to Protect Your Landscaping Through a Manitoba Winter

Aerial view of a landscaped backyard transitioning from summer to winter, with a pool, patio, pergola, trees, and snow-covered lawn.

Table of Contents


A newly landscaped yard can change how you use your entire property. New patios and walkways create places to gather and move through the yard, trees and planting beds soften the space, and careful grading helps everything work together.

Then Manitoba winter arrives.

Fortunately, a well-built landscape is designed with our climate in mind. That doesn’t mean it should simply be forgotten until spring, especially if your landscaping was installed during the past year.

A little preparation before freeze-up, thoughtful snow and ice management during winter, and an inspection during the spring melt can help protect your lawn, plants, hardscaping and drainage.

New Landscaping?

Your First Winter Deserves a Little Extra Attention

If your yard was landscaped this spring or summer, pay particular attention to newly planted trees and shrubs, new sod, irrigation, drainage routes and recently completed hardscaping. These areas may still be establishing, and checking them now gives you a useful baseline for your spring inspection.

Snow-covered landscaped garden with shrubs, trees and a brick patio during winter.

A Quick Fall Landscaping Checklist

Before winter settles in, take a walk around your entire property and look at more than just the garden.

  • Clear lawns and hardscaping. Remove heavy leaves, debris, hoses, furniture and other seasonal items.
  • Check new plantings. Make sure newly planted trees and shrubs are entering winter with adequate moisture.
  • Inspect mulch. Keep mulch around the root zone without piling it against trunks or stems.
  • Winterize irrigation. Water remaining inside irrigation components can freeze and cause damage.
  • Check drainage. Make sure swales, drainage paths and outlets aren’t obstructed.
  • Plan for snow. Decide where snow can accumulate without burying plants or blocking drainage.

Give Newly Planted Trees and Shrubs a Good Start

Plants don’t suddenly stop needing water because the weather gets cooler.

Newly planted trees and shrubs need consistent moisture while their root systems establish. During a dry Manitoba fall, continue monitoring soil moisture and watering as needed until the ground begins to freeze.

The goal isn’t to keep the ground constantly wet. It is to prevent newly established roots from entering winter already stressed by dry conditions.

Mulch can also help moderate soil temperature and retain moisture around trees and shrubs. Keep it spread over the root area rather than piled directly against the trunk or stems. Too much mulch can create its own problems, so more isn’t automatically better.

For more information on selecting and caring for trees suited to local conditions, see our guide to trees for Manitoba landscapes.

Do All Plants Need to Be Wrapped for Winter?

No. Burlap, tree guards and other winter protection can be helpful in the right circumstances, particularly for plants exposed to strong winter winds, salt spray or animal damage.

Young tree trunks may also benefit from protection where rabbits, voles or other animals are a concern. The right approach depends on the plant and where it sits within the landscape.

Be Careful With Fall and Winter Pruning

Winter can be a good time to prune many trees, but pruning advice isn’t one-size-fits-all.

Late dormancy is suitable for many trees and shrubs because their structure is easier to see before leaves return. Dead, damaged and crossing branches can also be easier to identify.

However, some spring-flowering shrubs produce their flower buds during the previous growing season. Pruning those plants during winter can remove the following spring’s flowers. If you’re unsure about a particular tree or shrub, identify the species before reaching for the pruning shears.

Prepare Your Lawn Before It Disappears Under Snow

A lawn doesn’t require much attention once it is frozen and covered in snow, but its condition heading into winter matters.

  • Remove heavy layers of fallen leaves.
  • Clear toys, hoses, furniture and other objects from the lawn.
  • Continue normal mowing while the grass is actively growing.
  • Avoid repeatedly walking or driving across frozen turf where possible.

For newer sod, follow the watering and establishment instructions provided when it was installed. A lawn installed late in the season may not have the same level of root establishment as an older lawn.

Be Careful With Late Fertilizer Applications

Generic winter lawn-care advice sometimes recommends fertilizing as late as possible in the season. Manitoba requires a little more attention than that.

Provincial nutrient-management rules generally restrict the application of substances containing nitrogen or phosphorus from November 10 through April 10, unless permitted dates are adjusted based on conditions. View Manitoba’s nutrient-management information.

Protect Patios, Walkways and Driveways

Outdoor patio table, chairs and planters covered in heavy snow during winter.

Hardscaping is built to live outdoors, but how you maintain it during winter can affect its appearance and longevity.

Start by clearing leaves, soil and other debris from patios and walkways before snow begins accumulating. Once winter arrives, remove snow carefully rather than repeatedly scraping or striking the surface.

With paving stones, shovel blades can catch raised edges or joints. When using a snowblower or other mechanical equipment, make sure the equipment is adjusted so metal components aren’t unnecessarily scraping across the paving surface.

If you’ve recently had a new patio or walkway installed, this is also a good opportunity to become familiar with the maintenance recommendations for the specific product used.

Explore more about North Coral’s patios, driveways and walkways.

Winter Hardscape Tip

Don’t Assume Every Ice Melt Is Safe for Every Patio

There is no universal ice-melt product that is ideal for every paving stone, slab or natural-stone surface. Recommendations can vary between manufacturers and materials.

Before spreading an ice melt across an expensive patio or walkway, check the manufacturer’s care instructions for the material you actually have.

Whichever product is appropriate, don’t use more than necessary. Excessive deicer can also affect nearby plants and soil as meltwater moves away from paved surfaces.

Think About Where You Put the Snow

Young backyard tree supported with stakes and covered in snow as part of winter landscaping preparation.

Once the snow starts flying, it is tempting to push it wherever there happens to be room. On a landscaped property, where that snow ends up matters.

Avoid repeatedly piling heavy snow directly onto young shrubs, small trees or delicate planting beds. The physical weight alone can bend or break branches.

Also pay attention to snow removed from streets, driveways and sidewalks where deicing salt has been used. As that snow melts, the salt moves with the water and can affect lawns, planting beds and sensitive plants.

A Good Snow-Storage Area Should Avoid:

  • Burying sensitive plants
  • Blocking walkways or important access
  • Blocking drainage routes
  • Directing large amounts of meltwater toward the home

On a carefully designed landscape, snow storage should be treated as part of how the property functions in winter.

Keep Drainage Routes Open

Drainage is easy to forget once everything is covered in snow. Unfortunately, spring has a habit of reminding us rather quickly.

Swales and other drainage routes are designed to move water across the property in a particular direction. They should not be filled, blocked or used as permanent snow-storage areas without considering what will happen when that snow begins to melt.

The City of Winnipeg recommends keeping residential drainage swales unobstructed and free-draining. In spring, clearing snow from drainage routes can also help meltwater begin moving earlier.

  • Swales between properties
  • Catch basins or drainage outlets
  • Low areas where water normally collects
  • Downspout locations
  • The slope around patios and walkways
  • Areas beside the home’s foundation

Patios, walkways and other constructed surfaces can also change over time. If a surface settles and begins directing water toward the house instead of away from it, that is something worth investigating.

Learn more about yard drainage and landscape design.

Winterize Your Irrigation System

If your property has an automatic irrigation system, don’t leave water trapped inside it for the winter.

Water expands when it freezes. Remaining water can damage irrigation pipes, valves, sprinkler heads and other components.

Different irrigation systems require different winterization methods. Some can be drained, while others require compressed air to clear water from the lines.

If you aren’t familiar with your particular system, professional winterization is safer than experimenting with compressor settings or assuming that shutting off the water supply is enough.

Check Retaining Walls and Landscape Elevations

Retaining walls don’t need to be covered or “winterized” in the same way a plant or irrigation system does. What matters is paying attention to how the surrounding property handles water and seasonal movement.

Before winter, keep drainage paths around walls clear and avoid creating snow piles that will produce large concentrations of meltwater in problematic locations.

Then look again in spring.

Minor seasonal changes around a landscape are not automatically a sign that something is wrong. However, noticeable leaning, separation, significant movement or recurring drainage problems should be assessed rather than simply covered up.

The same applies to steps, raised patios and other landscape elevations. Learn more about North Coral’s retaining walls and landscape elevations.

Don’t Forget Landscape Features

Modern yards often contain much more than plants and paving stones. Before winter, consider anything else incorporated into the landscape.

Water Features

Follow the winterization requirements for the pumps, plumbing and equipment used in the feature. Some components may need to be removed or drained.

Furniture & Planters

Store or secure furniture and lightweight decorative items. Empty planters may also require seasonal care depending on their material.

Fire Features

Clean up wood-burning areas and follow the manufacturer’s winter storage or shut-down instructions for gas components.

Landscape Lighting

Check that fixtures remain secure and visible enough that they won’t accidentally be hit by a shovel or snow-removal equipment.

Wooden Features

Decks, fences and pergolas are designed to remain outdoors, but fall is a good opportunity to look for loose components or areas that may need maintenance in the following season.

Don’t Stop at Freeze-Up

Spring Melt Is Part of Winter Landscape Care

Some of the most important winter maintenance happens when winter is almost over.

Winnipeg can accumulate a considerable amount of water within the snowpack. When temperatures rise, that water needs somewhere to go.

  • Open up important drainage paths.
  • Make sure downspouts and outlets can discharge properly.
  • Watch for water flowing toward the foundation.
  • Avoid creating dams of packed snow or ice across swales.
  • Look for prolonged pooling around hardscaping and planting areas.

You don’t need to panic over every puddle in March. Frozen soil can temporarily slow drainage. What you’re looking for are recurring or significant problems that suggest water isn’t moving through the property as intended.

Give the Landscape a Spring Inspection

Once the snow is mostly gone and the ground begins to thaw, walk the property again. Compare what you see with how the landscape looked going into winter.

What to Look For

  • Unusually uneven or shifted paving stones
  • Retaining-wall movement
  • Recurring drainage problems
  • Broken branches or animal damage
  • Lawn areas affected by salt or heavy traffic
  • Damaged landscape edging
  • Exposed roots
  • Irrigation components damaged over winter

Avoid rushing to repair everything while the ground is still frozen or saturated. Some conditions become much easier to evaluate after the property has fully thawed.

If something looks substantially different from the original installation, particularly with a newer landscape, contact the original contractor before attempting a major repair yourself.

Protect the Landscape as a Whole

Preparing a yard for a Manitoba winter isn’t really about wrapping a few shrubs and putting the patio furniture away.

A professionally landscaped property is a connected system.

Snow melts into water. Water follows the grading. Grading affects lawns, patios, planting beds and retaining walls. Snow clearing affects both hardscaping and nearby plants. Irrigation supports new planting throughout summer but needs attention before winter.

Looking at the entire property helps protect the work that went into creating it.

At North Coral Landscaping, we approach landscape design and construction with the whole property in mind—from patios, walkways and elevations to planting, grading and outdoor living areas. Thoughtful design isn’t just about how a yard looks when it is finished. It’s also about creating an outdoor space that works with your property and Winnipeg’s climate for years to come.

Learn more about our landscape design-build process.

Plan Ahead

Thinking About Next Season?

Winter is a great time to start thinking about how you want to use your outdoor space next year. From full yard transformations to custom patios, planting, hardscaping and landscape design, North Coral can help you plan a space that fits your property and the way you live.

START YOUR PROJECT

References & Resources

Posted by:

Tyler Ethridge