Neither do I (photo is not mine) but maybe someone gained half a zone or one zone with simple means :-)

Those are to prevent sunburn in the winter. Won't do anything for hardiness. Still see way too many, usually arbs, unnecessarily wrapped in burlap up here. Not sure how that bad advice persists.

Notice the micro-climates at the screens?

Somebody should go out and shovel some snow on the rootballs.

i gave up this form of exercise long ago ... if it cant make it on its own.. so be it .... they are plants not children i need to feed and clothe .. lol. ...

BUT ... if its windy ... and they are larger transplants ... it wouldnt hurt to give them a year of winter wind protection .... especially in ground freeze areas ...

freeze drying.. or desiccation .. and/or.. tissue going in and out of a frozen/dormant state .... are all problematic ... in the great white north ... mostly because .. imo ... there is no water replacement .. if the root mass is frozen in the soil ...

the whole thing is much more forgiving.. once the transplant has established a root mass consistent with its size ...

ken

just took these pics..hope I don't seem crazy..the "body bags" full of leaves are covering a banana and 3 cannas..cannas are new last summer but it worked for the banana last winter..my husband built a box for my macrophylla hydrangea..last year I used a plastic bag and it looked hideous..not sure the box is much better..this cold climate is a drag..

The plants I'm protecting shouldn't be planted in the ground in my zone..so they need help..

Phoenix palms, when large (6-8 years old), are perfectly able to withstand a Z8 winter...but smaller versions will definitely succumb...so I have protected customers plants (and ensetes and such) with a timber frame and horticultural fleece. I am very wary of polythene or anything non-permeable to air and water...but, for myself, I am not inclined to fuss - they live or die (and many do).

A simple burlap protection like that doesn't provide a microclimate other than protecting from sunscald and road salt spray damage. Looks like Thuja so the former is unneeded but the latter is critical.

my banana was a gift from a neighbor..here's a pic of hers..she has more that are not in this pic..fun to see them here..they grow this tall from May to November..we cut down in November and protect in the winter..

@smivies: if no micro-climate, how do you explain the snow melt all around the screens?

As mad_gallica said, having no snow over the rootballs isn't a plus. The snow insulates the ground and keeps temperatures more even. For zone pushing plants, I try to plant them where they will have snow the longest in spring so that they don't bud out early, though this isn't an issue for arborvitaes.

@Ontario_Canada5a_USDA4b: I think you'd find any dark object will melt snow adjacent to it when the temperature is near freezing...including foliage. That does not make this a micro-climate. Unfortunately, when the sun is not shining (at night or a cloudy day), that spot will get just as cold and in this case, the rootzone will get even colder for lack of snow insulation.

If your dark object is a wall with some heat capacity (doesn't immediately cool down in the absence of direct sun, then there may be some degree of a micro-climate effect.

Burlap has virtually no insulation value...it is basically a shade cloth or can be used as a wrap to prevent snow splaying.

Depends on how you define micro-climate, I think. The micro-climate created by the screens may benefit the plant above ground but not below ground, the screen may help against cold wind at night, etc. Not that I installed screens myself, I don't.

My point is that particular setup can only be depended on to help reduce salt spray and sun scald damage. It does not provide enough of a "micro-climate" effect to be apparent over and above the natural variability of one winter over another.

In some instances, burlap can help reduce drying as a result of consistently windy conditions but as designed, that arrangement wouldn't be a substantial help (doesn't provide enough protection to be apparent over year to year variability).

You may choose to disagree but I can assure you that any plants that actually require a 1/2 or full zone increase that a well designed micro-climate can provide, will be indifferent to that meager burlap screen. I will concede some effect but is 1/4 or 1/8 of a zone increase of any benefit at all one year to the next?

Fair enough, smivies, my house has an L-shaped corner facing South-East, and I still don't plant out-of-zone plants in that sheltered location.

I am still curious about what people do. Just about the most extreme that I read about (that I won't do) is to dig up the plants and store them in an unheated garage.

I have not read about soil warming cables (of the kind used in greenhouses) used outdoors to prevent soil temperatures from dropping to below -10F or whatever the root damaging temperature might be.

I don't plan to plant any more delicate plants..to protect the ones that I have I used a LOT of dry oak leaves to really insulate them..was afraid wrapping in burlap wouldn't be enough..this method using about 10 in of bagged leaves kept the banana alive the first winter..agree with Ontario about digging up plants..won't do it..didn't dig my cannas..that's the best microclimate (east) in my yard and I'm willing to gamble on the cannas..I was protecting the banana already..I have a dream of a tiny tropical oasis in my side yard..and it's visible from the street..

I dig up elephant ears and my begonia tubers. And Amaryllis :). Nicholsworth, if your bananas are Musa Basjoo, just dump a bag of mulch on top, that's all they need, will come back fine next spring! If anyone needs some Jacks Giant EE let me know lol!

Musa Basjoo last summer

Dingo..are you sure you live in Chicago? Lol..my banana is the same..just extra careful..hoping to save cannas too..if you're serious I'll try an EE..don't have any..

The banners are pretty easy keepers - they like Milorganite. Check out bananas dot org for good banana info, they helped me a lot the first year I was growing them. If you want an EE shoot me a message when it starts warming up and I can send some your way. They get big and multiply pretty quickly.

I have 3 small, variegated boxwoods that are Zone 6 (not sure if a or b). I know their foliage will be severely damaged by our Zone 5 winter winds so I cover each of them with a big pot weighted down with bricks. To date they've survived 3 winters, will be interesting to see if they make it through this very strange winter weather.

@felisar - I also have a variegated boxwood (Elegantissima) in zone 5...protection it needed here was winter shade so it's planted by the north side of the garage. Wind (& it's windy here) doesn't appear to have ever caused problems.

I also have a variegated boxwood (Elegantissiam) that is in the shade of a large rhododendron. It hasn't grown particularly quickly, but it's been in its current site for perhaps 15 years. It did die back at the tips when it hit -23F.

Another
issue is rodents feeding on your garden plants, especially in winter. I deliberately
don't always chase away neighbors' cats although I attract birds too. My garden
is protected by 3 (territorial) black cats that way, very
convenient!