Bark and Roots. Winter Tree Care Continued.

As winter strorms hit the midwest, you have to be prepared for everything. Storms could dump ten inches of snow, create winds of 70 mph, or drop four inhes of rain in one day. If you are concerned about your trees, and you should be, you should be considering the harm that fluctuating temperatures can inflict. In reality, you need to be not just thinking, but taking action to keep them alive and healthy.

The two primary problem areas would be the roots and the bark. If you can help these two areas with proper winter tree care, your trees will most likely make it to spring.

The root system of a young tree can be seriously harmed by intense temperature fluctuations. Somewhat sunny days and cold nights thaw and freeze the soil. This impacts not just young trees but also shrubs that can be partially uprooted by this change in climate.

Our Certified Arborists have a few more tips to help you give the trees a helping hand. Mulching is a very successful remedy and almost certainly will not cost you something. Leaves will make a superb mulch, but to make the effective, you need to run your lawn mower over them a few times to get them small enough. Then spread the leaf mulch around the base of the shrubs and young trees. But not more than 3-4 inches deep.

You can also use wood chips to about six inches around the base of the tree. If you use wood chips, stay away from letting them touch the bark because there will be a tendency for fungus growth.

If your trees and shrubs are likely to be subjected to drifting snow or especially severe winds, you can also safeguard them with burlap screens attached to stakes. This will keep them from being uprooted by high winds.

The bark of young trees specifically smooth bark trees is vunerable to splitting during the winter. The tissue heats up inside the sun, and starts to expand. At night, there is a sudden drop in temperature causing the bark and cambium to split. This is like your skin splitting in the cold.

The remedy is relatively straightforward. Purchase a roll of tree wrap or burlap and wrap it around the trunk of the young tree. As a rule of thumb, you are going to require about ten feet of wrap for a tree that is roughly two inches in length. Start at the bottom and wrap the tree from the root to just beneath the lowest branches, overlapping the wrap by about 1 half inch. If you get rid of the tree wrap in the Spring, you should be able to use it next Winter as well.

Winter tree care is so critical that we have taken great care to educate you with as many articles as possible about the subject.

October has to be our favorite month of the year. I understand that autumn officially begins in September, but in our experience it truly does not begin till mid or late October when the leaves begin to turn. Then, it’s a couple of weeks of spectacular beauty prior to the cold winds of December and January.

Here are some additional suggestions written by one of our Certified Arborists to safeguard your trees and shrubs throughout the winter and make certain that they come back strong throughout the spring:

1. 1. The very first step is truly the most fundamental: make certain that they get lots of water throughout the fall. If you have read that in other blogs from other authors, there is a reason. It is extremely important. If you suffer from lack of rainfall, like we have here in Kentucky last summer, water them throughout the winter as well. This really is particularly important with evergreens and newly planted trees. If you notice that the needles are turning brown on newly planted evergreens, water them completely before the ground freezes.
   2. Next, add a couple of inches of mulch around your shrubs and trees in the fall. Mulch helps retain water as well as protects against late frosts in the spring.This works very well for climates like Louisville that have very late frosts. This makes tree care in Louisville especially tricky.
   3. Eliminate any diseased leaves or leftover fruit from your trees. This prevents animals from being interested in them in the winter. They might gnaw on the bark and open up wounds that can’t heal in the winter. You can also keep animals away by installing tree guards or wiring about your trees. You will find also several products on the market which you can use for trees and shrubs to keep critters from eating your expensive trees.
   4. For those who have newly planted trees, sometimes-intense winter sun can damage the bark. Older trees have experienced time to develop thicker bark and do not generally need protection. You can safeguard your newer trees by wrapping them in the winter and then removing it in the spring.
   5. Do not neglect your inside plants either. Keep in mind they could most likely use a good feeding in the fall and do not need as a lot of watering like they do in the summer time. As a matter of fact, the single most common cause of houseplants not performing well is over watering. Make certain to adhere to the advice that came with the plant.
      

      Winter Tree Care cont.

      Winter brings freezing temperatures, frozen winds, and a lot of snow. Winter tree Care needs to be a priority if you plan on having beautiful trees in the Spring. Just as individuals battle Mother Nature, so do trees, with one significant exception: trees cannot steer clear of exposure to the elements. Here are some winter tree care tips that can help your trees fight the elements.

      Place composted natural mulch below your tree in the fall or early winter to help preserve water and decrease temperature extremes. A thin layer of mulch will behave like a blanket and provide the tree’s roots a bit of additional winter protection.

      Give your trees a drink. Winter droughts create a need for watering as a lot like summer time droughts. If temperatures permit, an intermittent watering throughout the winter on young trees could be a life saver. But make sure to water only when the soil and the trees are cool but not frozen.

      Prune your trees. Winter is really one of the very best times for tree pruning since it is easier to determine the structure of your trees without their leaves. But restrict pruning to deadwood and poorly placed branches to be able to conserve as many living branches as you possibly can.

      Prevent tree injuries. Branch breakage or splitting may be brought on by ice and snow accumulation, or by animals. Stop problems from occurring on young trees by wrapping the base of trees in a hard, plastic guard or perhaps a metal hardware cloth. Wrapping trees with burlap or plastic cloth also can stop temperature harm. Just keep in mind to eliminate the wraps and guards in the spring to prevent damage once the tree starts to develop.

      BRC