Protecting Your Trees and Shrubs from Old Man Winter

The last thing you want to do is invest money into your exterior landscaping by planting a dwarf weeping Norway spruce and find out that cold temperatures destroyed it come spring.

It’s worth taking the time to protect your trees and shrubs during the winter months. If time is a precious commodity, then contact professional landscape companies Anchorage AK area. Here’s a few winterization tips for the do-it-yourselfers out there.

1. Make Sure Your Plants are Healthy

Protecting trees from frost can be as simple as making sure that they’re healthy. If a tree or a shrub has struggled to survive the general growing season, then they’ll be heading into the winter months in a vulnerable state.

Keep trees and shrubs healthy by pruning at the right times. For instance, don’t prune plants after the middle of summer. Trimming stimulates delicate new growth while putting off dormancy. Along with this, you should stop fertilizing plants like your weeping bush with yellow flowers about six weeks before the year’s first frost. This winterization tip will help your plants harden off in a way that’s safe for them.

Water your plants thoroughly during the fall months until the ground freezes, making sure that the water seeps about 12 inches to 18 inches into the ground. This is the root zone.

2. Wrap Up Your Plants

While a mature dwarf weeping Norway spruce is likely to withstand the winter temperatures intact, consider insulating your younger trees and shrubs with a 3-inch to 4-inch layer of mulch after the ground freezes. This tip works to insulate the soil, helping it remain frozen and preventing heaving. Be sure to keep the mulch several inches away from tree trunks and the base of your shrubs to prevent rot and to dissuade rodents from chewing on them.

Wrap your trees and shrubs up too. The winds in Alaska can be damaging to these plants. You can either put up a windbreak or wrap them with burlap or a shrub wrap. This will also protect your trees and shrubs from the harsh winter sun.

Rodents like rabbits, deer and mice get hungry in the winter, and your weeping bush with yellow flowers may look like a tasty treat. Add additional protection by placing tree guards in front of them.

3. Keep an Eye on the Snow

When your area experiences a big snowfall and the branches of your trees are starting to bend under the weight, it’s a good idea to remove some of the snow, but be sure to remove it gently. If Anchorage winds up dealing with an ice storm, leave your trees alone. Attempting to remove ice will likely harm your trees more than it will help them.

Landscape Companies Anchorage AK

In Alaska, protecting trees from frost can be a challenging endeavor. If you have any doubts about your green thumb, turn to landscape companies Anchorage AK. These experts will not only know how to keep your trees and shrubs around year after year, they’re also sure to have them looking their best when next spring and summer arrive.