How to Care For Your Trees in Cold Winter Months

If you have tender younger trees or newly planted ones, you may be concerned about heavy ice and snow and strong, cold winter winds. Clear any debris from the ground around the trunk of the tree. Spread a good mulch or hay around the tree to provide insulation in the winter. The mulch should be piled at least a foot deep the plant. This should be done in the late fall, just before the first frost. A few good mulches are: bark mulch, wheat-free straw, wood chips and peat moss. There are other mulches also, but these are a few. Mulch protects roots and helps prevent rapid fluctuations in the soil temperature.

For young or new plantings, there are some options available to protect your tree or shrub from heavy snow that may fall upon it from other trees or from a roof, as well as from snowdrifts and strong winds. Many people opt for wrapping the tree in burlap, which is just fine and works very well, if the burlap is wrapped properly.

There are also garden tents which are ideal for young trees, shrubs or plants. The wood is nailed together in a V-shape, with mesh or burlap stapled to the wood. This forms a tent shape. Then all one has to do is place the garden tent over the desired plant and viola, you have protected that tree. There are also Styrofoam covers that people use. It is the same idea as the garden tent, in that it is physically placed over the plant, but it is made from Styrofoam rather than from wood and mesh or burlap. Many people today prefer the garden tents and Styrofoam covers as opposed to the burlap wrap. All three methods are good preventative measures to take towards protecting your fragile or new plants or trees against the harsh elements of winter. It is merely a matter of preference.

Trees that are somewhat larger or too large to be covered or wrapped, may need help to fight against the storm winds. You can help a tree at its weakest point, which is always where the branch departs from the tree trunk. The weakest point of a tree is where you have two branches of equal diameter coming off the trunk of the tree. It is at that point that trees seem to inevitably split. The plant collar which supports a limb cannot wrap itself around the split, which makes the branches very susceptible to high winds and heavy ice.

The tree can be braced by wrapping rope around the weak points and securing it to a wall, or anything that will keep it secure. Properly pruning a young tree will help you to avoid this kind of problem in the future. If you have any questions, be sure to contact your favorite nursery and they will be glad to help you.

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