Gardeners urged to do one important task this month or face dead plants in weeks

With winter weather well on the way, experts sat now is the ideal time to start focusing on how to keep your garden in the best shape possible over the colder months

Gardeners have been warned there’s one thing that they must do if they don't want their plants to die during winter.

With the colder weather on the way, now is the ideal time to start focusing on how to keep your garden in the best shape possible over the cooler winter months. Gardeners World reports that in order to keep your plants alive throughout the winter, there’s one urgent thing that you need to do right away.

According to the gardening experts, if you have any plants in your garden that are ‘borderline hardy’ like agapanthus, it’s crucial that you protect them from the colder temperatures with ‘a thick mulch of straw or garden compost’, otherwise you’ll face dead plants within weeks. For added protection, you could also add a layer of gardener’s fleece.

According to Gardeners World, November is also the ideal month to plant tulip bulbs in both pots and borders - just remember to cover them with ‘at least twice their depth of soil or compost’. They also recommend lifting dahlia tubers after the first frost, cleaning them off and storing them in dry compost in a ‘cool, frost-proof place’.

If you’re planning on planting bare-root hedging, roses, trees and shrubs, make sure to do all your planting before the weather ‘turns really cold’. The gardening pros also recommend removing faded sweet peas, morning glory, thunbergia, and any other climbers from their vertical supports.

You can also opt to trim down perennials that are ‘looking tatty’ and then add mulch around them to keep them warm as the temperatures drop. If you have any alpine plants, it’s also recommended to move these under cover, to help protect them from the lashings of expected winter rain.