Winter Plant Care Preparation
While we stack up the firewood and think about ski trips for the upcoming winter, we should also think about preparing our landscape plants for this blustery period. Almost all the plants in your yard are completely hardy to even extreme cold, but low temperatures are not the only factors we are concerned about. Protect your plant investment by taking a little time now to prepare them for winter.
GROUNDCOVERS AND PERENNIALS:
These plants have shallow roots and the typical freezing and thawing pattern of our winters causes heaving which may damage the roots. This occurs even more frequently in beds adjacent to concrete and brick surfaces. We recommend that you place an insulating cover of evergreen boughs or marsh hay over your beds. Protect your investment around Thanksgiving after several good frosts. This covering keeps the ground consistently frozen. A rodent bait could be used with any covering to keep them from nesting in the material.
BARK PROTECTION - TREE WRAP AND RABBIT FENCE:
Wrap the trunks of your smooth-barked trees with tree wrap each fall. The sudden temperature drop in the bark tissue as the winter sun sets often causes “frost cracks”. These are both unattractive and harmful to the tree. Tree wrap shades the bark, which reduces the chance of cracks. The paper roll is quickly installed by wrapping the trunk(s) spirally upward from the ground, overlapping each turn halfway. Wrap up to the first set of branches and secure with twine or electrical tape. Plastic tree wrap protects trees from both frost cracks and rabbits. Be sure to remove any kind of tree wrap each spring.
Rabbits, mice and other rodents are another possible winter hazard. They enjoy eating the bark off certain trees and shrubs. Plants girdled this way usually die. To protect susceptible plants, install a 30" x 36" fence of 2 x 2 Hardware Cloth (this has 2 holes per inch) around each. To help keep it in place and prevent animals from crawling underneath, add 2” of soil around the base of the enclosure. Later, if the snow gets deep, shovel it away from the plants so that the animals cannot reach branches from on top of the snow, or add a new fence ring on top.
The plants that rodents like the most include the following: Fruit trees, Crabapples, Hawthorns, Purple Leaf Plums, Nanking Cherry, Burning Bush, Newport Plum, Viburnum including Korean Spice Bush, Amelanchier (serviceberry), Willows, Spireas and Dogwood. In severe winters, bunnies my also attack almost any plant, young or old. Check your plantings weekly in winter for signs of chewing and call us for further information.
EVERGREENS:
Yews, Arborvitae, Hemlock, White Pine and some other needle evergreens may be susceptible to winter-burn, especially in spots exposed to winter sun and wind. Moisture is pulled from the needles at a time when roots cannot provide a fresh supply. This results in a yellow, red or brown tinge to the needles. To minimize this, water all of your evergreens deeply in the fall. Also, if your landscape consultant recommends it, spray with an anti-transpirant, such as Wilt-Pruf. A burlap cover can also be used to reduce winter moisture loss.
BROADLEAF EVERGREENS:
The broadleaf evergreens are those plants that keep their leaves all winter but whose leaves are not needle-like. This includes: Evergreen Rhododendrons, Mahonia (Oregon Grape Holly), Boxwood, Euonymus (Wintercreeper), Ilex (Holly), Pyracantha and Myrtle (Vinca minor).
Like any evergreen, the broadleaf evergreens are susceptible to winter burn. Winter sun and wind pull moisture out of the leaves at a time when the ground is frozen and the roots cannot replace it. Plenty of water should be available to the plant when going into the winter season. We recommend that you shield the plants from both winter sun and wind as described in the above discussion on evergreens.
Pick planting spots carefully. Many broadleaf evergreens will grow well in partial shade and that may protect them from the drying winter sun. Water plants well in November. Finally, cover certain plants with burlap or boughs in fall to both shade the plant and shield it from wind.
Approximate Date |
Material |
Notes |
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Anti-transpirant
Tree Wrap |
• Spray certain needle evergreens after watering deeply. • Wrap smooth-barked trees. • Cover broadleaf evergreens. • Encircle certain
plants. |
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• Remove rabbit fence only when grass is green. • Firm in any perennials heaved by the frost. |