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Preparing Your Plants For Winter
 By
Donna Evans
Winters can be very stressful on plants. Excessive moisture loss can be
caused by bitter winter winds and by the freeze thaw cycle that occurs when
warm, sunny days are followed by harsh cold nights.
Too much moisture loss throughout these cold months can weaken and even kill
plants. Before the ground freezes make sure that your trees, shrubs and
perennials are well watered. Young evergreen trees and evergreen shrubs can be
particularly sensitive to drying out. Their roots cannot distribute water to the
plant, yet their foliage can dry out from the sun and bitter winter winds.
A little time and effort on your part can help your evergreen trees and
shrubs survive a harsh winter. Wilt-Pruf is a protective coating that can be
purchased at garden centers. It holds in moisture and substantially reduces
water loss, helping ease the stress that can be caused by a harsh winter. The
product is natural and is derived from the resin of pine trees. Wilt-Pruf should
be applied before the temperatures fall below freezing.
Weather extremes and wildlife can also be tough on smooth bark trees and some
shrubs. Some trees are damaged by sunscald. Sunscald is damaging of the tree
bark. It is caused by the sun in late winter or early spring. The sun heats up
the bark during the day and freezing temperatures at night then damage the
cells. Using a tree wrap or some type of shading for the bark will prevent this
damage from occurring. Tree wrap can be put on during October or November, and
should be removed in the spring. Leaving the tree wrap on once the weather warms
up is not healthy for trees as insects can get in between the wrap and the tree
bark causing problems.
Rabbits, voles, mole and other small creatures may chew the bark of tender
trees and shrubs. Tree wrap will also help prevent damage from these creatures.
If you have shrubs that cannot be wrapped or the shrubs have flower buds waiting
for spring, enclose the shrub in chicken wire to protect then. If it is a cold
and snowy winter deer and rabbits are likely to nibble on almost anything. If
you are concerned about any small shrub becoming deer or rabbit food, make sure
you protect it.
Donna Evans is co-owner of Gizmo Creations,
http://www.gizmocreations.com, a landscape and website design firm located
just north of Brainerd, Minnesota. Gizmo Creations' website contains an
assortment of sample landscape plans, and has a open forum for questions on
plants and landscape design.
Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Donna_Evans
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