Protect Your Trees in Winter With Preparation and Proper Care
Winter can be rough on trees. Avoid future issues with your trees by preparing the plants for frigid temperatures before winter arrives. Ongoing tree care during the coldest months protects trees even further. Follow these steps to get your trees ready for chilly weather and keep them healthy until spring.
Clean Up Debris to Avoid Tree Diseases and Damage
Fallen limbs, messy leaves, and scattered pine cones are unsightly. Debris from trees can also spread plant diseases. Some insects, fungi, and other plant killers overwinter in fallen limbs and leaf piles.
Clean up all tree debris around your trees to create a more sanitary living environment for the plants. Any infections or insect infestations in tree matter will be less likely to migrate to healthy trees when you remove dead branches and other fallen debris from the bases of your trees.
Yard cleanup in autumn also helps you spot small seedlings that sprout from acorns and other tree seeds. When spring arrives, your autumn cleanup efforts mean less work pulling up baby trees you don't want in your landscape.
Water Trees to Insulate Trees and Warm the Soil
Water insulates the interior of trees during the winter months. Tree experts advise property owners to water their trees well in autumn to fully hydrate the plants.
Tips to water trees in autumn include the following:
Water trees from trunk to outer edges of leaves.
Water trees slowly.
Water at a rate of 10 gallons per inch of trunk diameter.
It's okay to water trees in the dead of winter, too. Winter watering helps keep tree roots supple and strong. Water your trees during middle and late winter when your cold-weather climate is also dry. For example, if there's no snow on the ground to melt into the soil, your trees need hydration. Wait for warm winter days to water your trees. When the temperature outside reaches 40 degrees, it's a good time to pull out the hose and soak the ground around your trees. Pay special attention to saplings and other young trees when you water. Newer trees don't have extensive root systems yet, so they may need additional watering throughout the winter months.
Add Mulch to Insulate and Prevent Moisture Loss
A layer of mulch around the base of a tree helps keep the soil moist by preventing evaporation of water around the tree's roots. Mulch also helps insulate the soil around roots to keep the soil frozen. If soil warms up too much from abundant winter sunlight, trees are at risk of root damage or winter die-back from breaking dormancy too early.
Mulches are classified as organic and inorganic. Organic mulches are recommended by most tree experts and include the following materials:
Leaves
Pine needles
Wood chips
Tree bark
Compost
Cocoa hulls
Organic mulches are preferred over inorganic mulches, since organic mulches offer soil conditioning. The mulch components break down and add texture and additional nutrients to the soil.
Inorganic mulches are sometimes offered as one-piece mats or circles that surround tree bases. Inorganic mulches include the following materials:
Pebbles
Chipped stone
River rocks
Gravel
In addition, property owners can purchase rubber mulch products that resemble organic mulches like tree bark or wood chips. Inorganic mulches don't provide soil conditioning or nutrients to trees, but they do protect trees from foot traffic, machinery, and excessive weed growth around tree bases. If rodents are a problem in your area, wait until a hard freeze to mulch trees. Small rodents won't take up residence under the mulch by then, because they find their winter nesting spots during the warmer autumn months. Mulch should not be in direct contact with the trunks of trees, since the trunk and adjacent base roots need oxygen to stay healthy. Mulch trees in the shape of a bagel rather than a small hill around the bottoms of trees.
Use Tree Wrap to Prevent Sunscald
Sunscald won't necessarily kill your trees, but it will make the tree trunks look bad. Sunscald occurs because cells in the tree trunk break dormancy on warmer winter days. The activated cells are prone to freezing as soon as the next frigid weather arrives, which can cause scarring and frost cracks on tree trunks. Some people paint trees white to keep the tree trunks from breaking dormancy. Tree experts recommend using horticultural tape on tree trunks instead. Unlike paint, the tape can be removed.
Follow these tips when wrapping trees:
Wrap the trunk from its base to the lowest branches.
Overlap tape about one-third of the tape width as you wrap.
Use white tape to reduce trunk warmup on sunny days.
Wrap newly installed trees for the first few winters.
Wrap thin-barked trees for at least four to five years.
A wrap can be placed on trees in autumn. The wrap should be removed after the last frost in spring.
Prune Trees When Dormant
Fall cleanup includes removing damaged or dangerous limbs from your trees. This preventative measure helps you avoid hazards from falling branches. However, most trees should be pruned in middle to late winter when the plants are fully dormant. Prune trees to improve the shapes of trees and offer more sunlight to the crown and interior branches. Prune each tree branch just above the tree node or branch collar, which is where a new branch emerges from a larger branch. On evergreens, prune lower branches to open up the bases of the trees. If you're not sure how to wrap, mulch, prune, or water your trees during winter, get in touch with the experts. Tree service professionals do the hard work for you and will advise you on how to give the best fall and winter care to your particular species of trees.