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Slide 16
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Most winter damage to evergreens doesn’t actually come from cold, but from the drying effects of winter sun and wind. With the soil frozen hard, plant roots can not take up water to make up for moisture losses and as a result dehydration causes browning or burning of foliage.

Salt used for deicing walks and roads in winter can cause or aggravate winter injury and die-back. Salt runoff can injure roots and be absorbed by the plant, ultimately damaging the foliage. Salt spray from passing autos can also cause severe foliage or stem injury. If your plants get salt spray from the road, burlap may help. Burlap can also help protect against severe wind damage but be careful, trees and shrubs like people should not be wrapped to tightly! We all need to breath and adapt as needed!

Heavy snow and ice cause damage by bending and breaking branches. It’s always wise to remove heavy snow that accumulates on your landscape plants before it freezes there and breaks or deforms the branches. When the worst of any winter storm is over gently brush off the snow off by hand or use a broom to gently remove it (gently being the operative word). Do not shake or beat branches because they are brittle at this time of year and may break easily. Ice can be more difficult to remove. Trying to remove ice from bent-over plants often results in greater damage. If ice has accumulated on your shrubs, allow it to melt instead of attempting to remove it. Upright trees and shrubs, especially evergreens, that remain bent after accumulated snow and ice have melted, should eventually straighten themselves out. If they do not there are tie backs and props that can be used to help the shrub or tree to straighten up.

All broken branches will need to be removed. If the damage is severe and threatens the overall health of the tree or presents a safety hazard, the broken branches should be removed as soon as possible. If the damage is minimal, the broken branches should be removed at the appropriate time of the year.

When spring time arrives (and it will) remember to give your trees and shrubs a good feeding to replenish the nutrients lost during the winter months.

Preventative Care - Good winter care starts with thorough watering through out the growing season, particularly in the fall. When the gardening season draws to a close, it is tempting to just forget about your plants. Evergreens and broad-leaf evergreens don’t lose their leaves, so they need to store moisture going into winter because they continue to give off water vapor through the cold months. To help preserve moisture, cover the root area of evergreens and broad-leaf evergreens with a layer of leaf or bark mulch.

Happy Gardening!



 



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