Prevent tree, shrub damage
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Tree and shrub damage caused during winter months often does not show up until spring or early summer, then the problem gets blamed on other causes.
Preventing the damage is the best course of action. It is often necessary to provide extra attention to plants in the fall to help them over-winter and start spring in peak condition. Understanding certain principles and cultural practices will significantly reduce winter damage that can be divided into three categories: desiccation, freezing and breakage.
Desiccation, or drying out, is a significant cause of damage, particularly on evergreens. Desiccation occurs when water leaves the plant faster than it is taken up. Several environmental factors can influence desiccation. Needles and leaves of evergreens transpire some moisture even during the winter months. If it is a dry fall, avoid watering until after trees drop their leaves but before the ground freezes, give both evergreen and deciduous trees and shrubs a final deep watering to last them through the winter.
Freezing injury can take several forms. New growth stimulated by late summer fertilization or pruning may not harden off sufficiently to survive freezing. Ice crystals rupture cell walls; this damage will show up as dead branches and tips. A sharp temperature change between day and night may freeze the water within the trunk of a tree, causing it to explode or split open, usually on the southwest side.
Breakage of branches is usually related to snow and ice. Two causes of damage by snow and ice are weight and careless snow removal. High winds compound the damage done to ice-covered plants. Damage may take the form of misshapen plants, or may actually result in broken branches and split trunks.
The extent of winter damage can best be determined after new growth starts in the spring. At that time, prune all dead twigs or branches back to within one quarter of an inch above a live bud, or to the branch collar of the nearest live branch.
