AG-454 It usually requires more than one season to produce marketable woody nursery crops. Thus nursery crops must survive at least one winter before they can be sold. Successful winter survival means that the roots remain alive and the upper foliage is healthy, shows little damage, and is ready to resume growth. Most plants produce a flush of growth in the spring, and this growth may continue throughout the season.
Growth gradually slows in the fall because of cooler temperatures and shorter days.
Several physiological requirements must be met to successfully overwinter nursery plants. To choose the appropriate winter protection techniques, you must know how plants acquire cold hardiness and how they are damaged by cold temperatures and winter conditions. Average date of the first freezing temperature in autumn. To harden plants or induce dormancy, the proper conditions must occur at the same time. During overwintering, several internal processes within plants affect cell membranes, energy storage, leaf coloration, and abscision in deciduous plants.