Hello All, We hope all is going well and you are enjoying the snow. We know that seeing so much snow on your plants can feel stressful, but the most important thing to do is be patient; winter can be a rewarding and wonderful time to witness nature's process. In addition, here are some basic measures you can take to care for your trees and plants and keep snow and ice damage in your garden at a minimum. |
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Broken Branches Wait to remove broken branches until spring: pruning stimulates growth and could result in further damage. Once it's spring prune one quarter of an inch above a new bud or base of the branch. |
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Forest Damage and Leaf Dessication Prune brown or wilting leaves in the spring as well. Often, brown leaves will fall off when the temperature rises, and new growth will appear. Sometimes you must prune brown or wilted leaves, but patience is usually rewarded. |
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Salt Burn Salt burn occurs when dissolved salts contained in road runoff injure plants directly and change the structure of the soil, causing it to become compacted adding extra stress to the plant. Treat plants afflicted with salt burn by flushing the area around the plants in early spring by applying two inches of water over a 2-3 hour period, repeating three days later. Other preventive measures include planting salt-tolerant species in affected areas and using only sand or sawdust to improve traction on slick surfaces. |
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Heavy Snow Do not shake off heavy snow that accumulates on trees and shrubs. Once the storm passes light snow can be removed with a broom: make sure to sweep in upward motions- downward sweeping can easily break off branches. With branches covered in ice the best thing to do is simply wait until warmer weather arrives and naturally melts the ice. |
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Frost Heave Wait until the soil thaws to replant shallow rooted perennials that have been pushed ("heaved) out of the ground during periods of soil freezing and thawing. Next fall, apply 2-3 inches of mulch to prevent a recurrence. |
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Enjoy the snow, and once again, the most important thing is to be patient and have faith in your trees and garden, they are built for this! |
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