If you live in a climate where snow never touches the ground then your outdoor umbrella is good for 4 seasons. For most regions though, outdoor umbrellas are meant to come inside out of the cold when winter sets in. Taking care of your outdoor furniture season by season will give you years of extra life to enjoy it.
Setting aside the assumption that you will be caring for your patio umbrella, I would like to point out that there are one season umbrellas and then there are multi-season umbrellas.
Here at Sage Garden Style, we leave the one season umbrellas to the big box stores. I think they have a place in your decorating scheme and I have used them myself as an added element of color to brighten up a garden space. They have their own unique value.
That is not the place you want to look when you are pulling together an outdoor space with coordinated fabrics and furniture that you intend to use and keep for several seasons. You want your umbrella and your pillows and cushions to perform outdoors without having to worry about fading and mildew after one 3 season cycle of spring, summer, and fall.
Look for value in the frame construction as well as the canopy fabrics and hardware used to make sure that the products you purchase will withstand the challenges of outdoor living. Look for quality construction and proper fitting of the umbrella canopy. Lesser quality products will tear and become loose if they are stretched over a frame without enough fabric.
Adjustable crank frames with tilt are options that can break easily and for that reason it may be better to stay with simple pulley systems that are much more durable.
All umbrellas that are to be left outdoors will eventually come in contact with some wind. Make sure that your umbrella spanning 9ft or larger comes equipped with a top vent which helps to let the wind pass between the fabric.
Bases should be appropriately sized and matched with the size of the umbrella but that is another article. We will address that in an upcoming post.