Timely Tips for Winter
Winter is the Time to proactivly prevent damage to trees, shrubs and turf…
Exposure to the tough conditions of winter can be stressful for trees, shrubs and lawns. Help ensure that they pull through with these tips from Savatree. For additional tips subscribe to our newsletter and receive the latest tree care and lawn care tips sent right to your inbox.
Tree Care Tips
Winter Tree Care Tip #1: Prune
Winter is one of the best times to prune because, without leaves, its easier to see the structure of the tree. Limit pruning to deadwood, structural and shape improvements in order to save as many living branches as possible. If unsure, get an experts advice, as poor pruning can cause a great deal of damage to the tree.
Learn more about winter pruning.
Winter Tree Care Tip #2: Mulch
Provide two to four inches of organic matter such as wood chips or compost. Place three to six inches away from trunk and extend it out as far as the planting hole. By applying mulch in the fall or early winter, you will to help retain water and reduce temperature extremes. It will also act like a blanket and give the tree’s roots a little extra winter protection.
Winter Tree Care Tip #3: Water
Trees need water all year long. Just because its cold doesn’t mean there is ample water in reach of tree roots. If temperatures permit, an occasional watering during the winter on young trees can be a life saver. Don’t water of the ground is frozen.
Winter Tree Care Tip #4: Protect with Antidesiccants
Antidesiccants slow the loss of water from plants. It’s a waxy substance that’s applied right to the leaves and is designed to stop or reduce the amount of water being lost through the leaves at times when roots are unable to take up sufficient water. Without the help of an antidesiccant, leaves can scorch or a plant could even die.
Lawn Care Tips
Winter Lawn Care Tip #1: Test Your Soil
Large, heavy piles of snow on your landscape can cause long-lasting damage to lawns and even permanent damage to other elements in your landscape. Remove heavy snow from branches, bushes and shrubs.
Large piles of snow on your lawn can lead to compaction and malign the soil’s ability to properly absorb air, water and nutrients. In addition, concentrated areas of snow pileup can create conditions that are ripe for lawn diseases once the snow starts to melt.
In order to avoid compaction and risk for lawn diseases, try to avoid piling large amounts of snow on your lawn when clearing driveways and walkways. Sometimes, just adjusting the angle of the snow blower’s chute as you clear your property can help to spread out the snow more evenly
Winter Lawn Care Tip #2: Aerate
Winter winds, snow and ice all can wreak havoc on small branches. Remove branches and other debris as soon as possible. They can potentially hazardous to anyone enjoying the winter lawn, especially if they get covered with a new blanket of snow. They also will break up into smaller pieces over time, which presents a hazard during mowing in the spring, and the small pieces of branches and twigs can become embedded in your lawn, leading to compaction and thatch buildup.
Winter Lawn Care Tip #3: Fertilize
The mid-winter thaw, warmer winters, or approaching spring all present ripe conditions for lawn diseases such as snow mold and other types of lawn fungus. To reduce your risk, break up large piles of snow. This will improve drainage conditions on your lawn.
Once the snow has cleared, professional lawn care providers can examine grass plants to check for snow mold and leaf diseases including lawn fungus. If you think you have an active disease on your property, our professional lawn care providers can come out and review your lawn with you to determine the best lawn care program to cure lawn diseases before spring comes.
Stumped? SavATree can help!
Maintaining your landscape can be very rewarding, but finding reliable and easy to understand information on the topic can be frustrating.
Are you looking for lawn care tips, tree trimming tips or advice on the best organic lawn fertilizer? Not sure if your trees need pruning? What’s the best approach for spring lawn care, or the best steps to take in the fall to prepare for spring blooms? How can you grow beautiful plants in the winter? What’s the right type of grass for your landscape? How can you tell if your trees or lawn are diseased?
Our expert arborists have compiled a comprehensive tree and lawn care calendar so you know what do to and when to do it. The Care Calendar, developed by our certified arborists, is intended to provide a month-by-month guide to landscaping. It’s filled with tips that will help you care for, cultivate and beautify your trees, lawn and garden.
For additional tree care and lawn care information, please click or call today to arrange a complimentary consultation with an arborist or one of our fully trained lawn care experts.
