Guide to Winter Plant Care

Cold, early nights and winter weather can not only take a toll on your mood, but also can affect your landscaping, plants and trees! You can help maintain your landscaping greenery throughout the colder months, so that they will be ready to burst out with beauty once the spring days start to move in.

Mulch is for winter too: While mulch is considered the star of the spring show, it can also play a role all winter long. Mulch can help protect your landscaping as a barrier to keep the base of your trees and shrubs protected. You can spread some mulch about a few inches around the bases. It functions in a few ways: as a way to keep freeze/thaw cycles under control when the crazy weather takes turns from one direction to another, as insulation for your plants and trees’ roots and as a way to hold in moisture during the colder months.

Wrap up your trees: You may consider adding a layer of burlap screens to your evergreens before the bitter cold of the later winter months starts to blow in. A screen wire or hardware wire can help keep your trees from being lunch or dinner for area critters.

Only water when it’s warm enough: If you are worried about your outdoor plants needing water, only spray them with water when it is above freezing so that the water has time to absorb and not cause a freeze/thaw cycle of your plants’ bases

Snow has its own role: Believe or not, snow can serve as an insulator as well. Soil under a layer of snow can get close to 32 degrees even when the air temperature heads below zero. It is best to leave the snow alone and not try to shovel it off of your landscaping plants. 

Shrubs need to shrug off snow: The exception to removing snow is when it is visibly heavy and causing weight on your trees’ branches or shrubs. The heaviness of the snow can cause damage by cracking branches or tearing off a lot of greenery. Gently brush off heavy snow with a broom and not a shovel to prevent damage from sharp corners.

Maintenance and More from our Professional Team

At Cutting Edge Landscaping, we address all types of issues and problems that may occur on your property. We can assist with maintenance of your landscaping when it is time for seasonal cleanups, pruning of trees and shrubs, care of your mulch and groundcover, and lawn mowing, edging and weeding when it warms up. We can also help you all winter long at your home or business! We provide private and commercial snow removal services, such as monitoring for freezing and thawing, clearing of sidewalks and entryways, onsite snow relocation, salt management, bulk salt storage and de-icing. Contact our expert team through our online contact form today.