This month’s To-Do List is pretty short. Perhaps the most important thing you can do is to make sure your plants are prepared for winter. And we’re not simply talking about cold weather. These days, our plants are subject to more temperature fluctuation than in the past, and these sudden changes in temperature can be just as damaging as severe cold.
Those old standbys — mulch and proper watering — are just what’s needed to prepare our plants for the ups and downs of winter. If we have a dry period before winter begins in earnest, water your more vulnerable plants, making sure to soak the soil several inches deep. Mulch with wood chips, leaf mold, or similar materials. A mulch protects by preventing rapid temperature change at the soil surface, deep penetration of frost, and excessive loss of surface water. Conserving soil moisture now can help prevent winter desiccation later.
Evergreen shrubs and trees are susceptible to damage from heavy snow and ice. Remember that white stuff that used to float down from the sky? Despite our changing climate, snow and ice are still a possibility. If winter precipitation is in the weather forecast, you may want to provide some protection, espeically for the evergreens most prone to damage, including arborvitae, boxwood, cedars and junipers, hollies, leyland cypress, and evergreen magnolias. Heavy snow and ice storms cause damage by bending and breaking branches.
Snow Removal Advice
As I learned the hard way, there’s a correct way to remove snow from heavy-laden branches. I have a severely damaged boxwood as proof. If only I’d received this helpful tidbit in time: “Two causes of damage by snow and ice are weight and careless snow removal.” Relf and Appleton, “Managing Winter Injury to Trees and Shrubs,” Va.Coop.Ext.Pub. 426-500. Some experts in colder regions recommend dusting snow off shrubs even while it is still falling. That’s probably not necessary in our area, but if a large load of snow is collecting on your shrubs, you may want to remove it, especially if more freezing weather or wind is predicted. Some experts advise against removing snow or ice, but if it seems called for, you should remove it gently with a broom. Shaking is not recommended. Always sweep upward with the broom to lift snow off. When the branches are frozen and brittle, avoid disturbing them. Wait until a warmer day or until ice naturally melts away.
Advance Preparations
You can protect smaller upright evergreens such as arborvitae and juniper by wrapping or tying together the branches, and circling the plant with a soft cord, twine, or fabric strips, up to about ¾ of the way to the top. Pulling the branches together and securing them in an upright position can reduce the weight of the snow or ice. A slightly different version of this wrapping technique is used on vulnerable shrubs.
Boxwoods and similar evergreen shrubs may be protected against snow damage by wrapping the outer branches with twine, cord, or strips of burlap. Start by tying the cord securely to a low branch, and then wrap the cord so as to create an upward spiral around the outside of the bush, spacing the cords 8 to 10 inches apart. The goal is to prevent heavy piles of snow on the branch tips, so you want the cord tight enough to prevent breakage from excess weight
of snow or ice, but not tight enough to exclude air circulation around the plant. For more about protecting boxwoods in winter, read Boxwood in the Landscape/Winter Damage or Injury, Va.Coop.Ext. Pub. 426-603.
You can leave the restraints in place until all ice has melted. There is no harm in leaving it on longer, however, for protection in case of another storm, but make sure the twine is removed before new growth begins in the spring.
The branches of deciduous trees can also be damaged by heavy snow and ice. Be sure to remove heavy snow gently, as improper removal might increase damage. Do not try to remove ice from branches as that can also cause additional damage; allow ice to melt off naturally.
Making Your List, Checking It Twice
If you’re thinking about giving a hydroponics system as a holiday gift, you’ll probably want to learn more about them. Here’s a source worth reading: Hydroponics for the Holidays? Home Systems are a hot holiday gift list item/ The Garden Professors.
Photo: Cathy Caldwell
If you’re planning to make a wreath or centerpiece with the greenery in your own yard, you’ll find lots of advice on that topic, as well as on the subject of Christmas trees, both living and cut, in Holiday Decorating with Fresh Greenery, The Garden Shed/Dec.2015.
The Last Word is a very important tidbit from that article: To prevent spreading boxwood blight unintentionally, either burn or bag up and dispose of all boxwood trimmings. To stay up to date on boxwood blight, start with the Boxwood Blight Task Force, which contains links to multiple articles and resources.
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