Warm Weather Excites Landscapes

What about the unusually warm weather in recently! Don't panic, most of our plants will be just fine if we leave them alone. No need to worry about the early daffodils or other bulbs that are coming up. You may notice some "burned" foliage on broadleaved evergreens like hollies, rhododendrons and the like after the cold January. This is the time to be looking for any winter damage that may have occurred to some of our plants or may happen if our landscape plants get too excited because of the recent mild temperatures. When the ground was frozen and we had sun and wind this can dehydrate the foliage and sometimes even damage the root system of some plants.

Another situation that occurs during the winter months is sunscald on young tree trunks, especially on some of the maples with thin bark. Varieties like the red or swamp maples (Acer rubrum varieties) and sugar maple (Acer saccharum selections) are some of the most vulnerable varieties affected by this phenomenon. The damage is caused by sudden changes in the tree trunk bark temperature when a cloud covers the sun for a short time on a very cold sunny day. This drastic, rapid change in temperature ruptures cells causing them to die resulting in a vertical crack in the bark that can be from a few inches up to 2 or 3 feet in length. Unfortunately this damage will not be visible until the end of the summer after growth expands the trunk and makes this damage visible. This crack normally develops on the southwest side of the tree where the afternoon sun was shining on it. A simple solution that will help to prevent this problem would have been to place a protective cover around the trunks of young trees about Thanksgiving time. These "tree guards" can be removed at Easter for the growing season. (See photo) The guards are inexpensive and easy to install, remove and store. They should be light in color to avoid heat build-up near the trunk of the tree.

The month of March can be one of the most damaging periods in the winter due to heavy, wet snow storms. Most of the time it is best to avoid removing snow from plants as this may cause more damage. However, if large evergreens like arborvitae, hemlocks or pine trees are laden down with heavy, wet snow serious breakage can occur to branches. When a situation of heavy snow is likely, it is a good idea to gently brush off this heavy snow as it accumulates before a large amount accumulates on the plants that can cause damage. Alternatively, if you want to be proactive, you can lightly wrap the foliage with some old stockings or pantyhose that can be removed at the end of March after the danger of a heavy snow is past.

Send questions for you at info@meadowview.com and we'll try to help you.

Meadow View Growers

34 years of growing for you

www.meadowview.com.

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