Winter weather can be tough on any garden. If you’re responsible for landscaping, you want to do everything you can to preserve the integrity and beauty of your property. Protect your flora from potentially devastating winter weather, including freezing temperatures, heavy snowfall, and harsh wind. Read on below to find out exactly what to do.
Although it’s been warmer in Minnesota, it’s been snowier than usual. Not to mention, a warmer winter in Minnesota is still harsh compared to many other places in the country. Even milder conditions are still potentially dangerous for your trees and shrubs.
There are two relatively simple yet essential things you should be doing before the winter weather arrives that may mean the difference between life and death for the trees and shrubs in your landscape.
Adding Mulch
Just like you wear a warm coat in the cold of winter to protect your body, your trees will benefit from some insulation. Laying down a thick layer of mulch around your trees’ base will provide some warmth to help prevent the ground from freezing. Moreover, trees in nature benefit from branches and leaves that fall from other trees around them, which provide vital nutrients to the trees to enable them to thrive throughout the freezing winter months. Laying down mulch helps simulate that same effect, providing the benefits that planted trees in a garden don’t tend to get when in a commercial garden.
One major tip before adding mulch around your trees; thoroughly water your plants, and then add the mulch. This will help trap and conserve moisture that your tree’s roots will need to continue growing during the winter.
Getting Rid of Any Dead or Dying Branches
During the winter months, a primary concern is the buildup of snowfall, cracking, and breaking your tree branches. Before the snowfall hits, make sure you’re pruning and removing dead and dying branches in your trees to eliminate the possibility of these weak branches breaking off and harming healthy components on the way down. This is especially important if you have trees that are close to your building or any other structures.
In addition, your trees will still actually allocate resources to these dead branches, and during the coldest winter months, nutrients are hard to come by. Eliminating these dead branches will help preserve your trees’ health by giving them resources only to the parts of the tree that are still living and desperately need nourishment.
Conclusion
Are you worried about protecting your commercial landscape this winter? The best bet is to hire an experienced professional. Earth Development has extensive experience in the maintenance and pruning of trees on commercial property in Minnesota. Contact our specialists for detailed information regarding how they can help you protect your trees from the damaging winter weather.