Preparing your landscape for winter can include applying anti-desiccant to some trees or shrubs.
Do you dread the effect of harsh winter weather on your lawn, trees and shrubs? The dry winds, ice, and snow that come with winter don’t have to damage your trees and shrubs this year. In fact, there are many steps when preparing your landscape for winter. You can take the following actions to preserve the health of your landscape through the winter and prepare it for a quick bounceback in the spring.
Fall Fertilizer
Turf experts agree that fall is the best time of year to add nutrients to your lawn. The micro and macronutrients found in fertilizer can help your lawn’s roots grow deep into the soil. At the same time, the fertilizer provides nutrients for the rest of the grass plant through the winter, so they are vibrant, strong, and prepared to start growing in the spring.
Deep Root Fertilization for Trees and Shrubs
Ornamental trees, shrubs, and woody stem plants do not go into dormancy until the ground freezes. Until then, their roots are growing and absorbing nutrients to nourish the plant. This is a great time to provide them with fertilizer, particularly deep root fertilization that provides:
- Nutrients to deep root systems
- The ability to grow and fill out their fullest potential
- Strong health and the ability to fight back against diseases and insects
- Strength to survive extremely dry conditions, including cold winter winds
- Addition of Mycorrhizae will help roots absorb nutrients and water
Plant Trees and Shrubs
Like turf grass, tree roots can anchor deep into the soil in the fall while ground temperatures are warm and air temperatures are cooler. However, it’s important to keep the soil around newly planted shrubs and trees watered into the fall. Your landscape technician can also apply the appropriate amount of mulch around your plantings to keep them from drying out in the winter.
Anti-Desiccant Spray for Evergreens
Winter winds can be brutal on evergreen trees and shrubs. Moisture is unavailable when the ground is frozen and plants cannot get the water they need from the soil. Therefore, they draw liquid directly from their stems and leaves. This moisture loss combined with dry winds stresses evergreen plants and can cause leaves to desiccate.
When preparing your landscape for winter, your Scientific Plant Service technician can apply anti-desiccant spray on your evergreens to avoid this stress and damage. This process forms a waxy shield that holds in moisture and prevents leaf desiccation.
Refresh Your Mulch
Adding mulch to landscaped beds around perennials, flower gardens, and under trees and shrubs can help protect the root systems from freeze/thaw cycles of winter. Mulch also minimizes weed competition in the spring and adds nutrients into the soil as it decomposes.
Scientific Plant Service Is Your Go-To Source In Landscape Healthcare
Scientific Plant Service, located in Baltimore, is a privately owned corporation, chartered in Maryland in 1957 by Frank J. Burke. We started as a full-service Arborists specializing in the care of shade trees and ornamental shrubs, but today we are a Lawn Care company that is a huge part of the community. From aquatic environments and snow management to deer and mole control, SPS has services tailored specifically for your lawn and landscape.
We offer services in Maryland, Washington, DC, and Virginia, including: Harford, Baltimore, Carroll, Frederick, Howard, Anne Arundel, Montgomery, Prince Georges, Talbot, Queen Anne’s, Calvert counties in MD, as well as Loudoun County, Fairfax County, Arlington, Alexandria, and Falls Church in VA. For more information, contact us online, or call us at 410-321-0970. Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest!