Horticulture Forum: Aug. 2001, SEASONAL OUTLOOK: Winterizing Trees & Shrubs

Published August 14, 2001

Have you started thinking about winterizing your trees and shrubs yet? Fall is a time of change and reorganization within a tree, and contractors can help trees survive and thrive with proper fall care.

Trees sense changing seasons in three ways: via a dormancy timer in the leaves; due to changing temperatures; and by the amount of light they get. Old leaves, buds and inner bark have a pigment that can tell the seasons. As the days shorten in fall, this pigment, called phytochrome, tells the tree to shutdown for the winter.

Trees prepare for winter through an organized process called senescence. This includes shutting down summer growth and conservation of valuable resources. A message is sent from the tissues with phytochrome, which signals senescence. Senescence brings both the fall colors and leads to renewed spring growth.

CARE TIPS: Winterizing Your Trees

    Here are nine things you can do to winterize your tree:

    1. Remove or correct structural faults and deadwood that are clearly visible. Try to make small pruning cuts that minimize the exposure of the central heartwood core on branches.


    2. Properly prune branches that will hang too low when loaded with rain and snow. Foliage and branches that are in contact with soil can invite undesirable pests and problems.


    3. Remove damaged and declining twigs, branches and bark. Do not leave pests food and shelter for the winter.


    4. Remove any new sprouts that have grown at the tree base or along stems and branches. Pruning should conserve as many living branches as possible with only a few selective cuts.


    5. Spread a thin layer of composted organic mulch to blanket the soil. Cover an area at least as large as the branch spread. Mulch is nature’s way of recycling valuable materials, but be careful of pests hitching a ride.


    6. Properly wrap new trees that have not developed a corky bark and could be easily damaged. Mechanical injury from the environment, including chewing and rubbing by animals, must be prevented.


    7. Aerate soils if they are compacted and poorly drained. It is critical not to damage tree roots in the soil. Saturated and dense soil can suffocate roots.


    8. Fertilize with all the essential elements, if they are in short supply within the soil. Be sure to go lightly with nitrogen, especially under large, mature trees and around newly planted trees.


    9. Watering may be needed where soils are cool but not frozen, and there has been little precipitation. Winter droughts need treatment with water the same as summer droughts, except it is much easier to over-water in winter.

    Trees are investments that require a small amount of care. For the sake of your tree’s quality of life and your own, take a few minutes to winterize your tree. Wonderful springs come from well-tended winters. - Second Nature Lawn Care

Many of the materials a tree collected during the growth season are withdrawn from soon-to-be dead leaves. The last bit of tree food is stockpiled in the living cells of the outer annual growth rings. Twigs, branches and roots become the collection sites and warehouses of materials needed for the next season. Within the tree, biological doors and windows are being closed and locked. From the moment last spring’s green leaves expanded and began to make food, winter dormancy has been designed into the tree system. The process of spring and summer growth reset and started a dormancy timer that now hurries the tree preparations.

Most of the growing points in the tree are protected inside overcoats called buds. During the winter, each growing point waits for the correct message to signal a new season of growth. Only then will it be apparent whether the tree has put aside and saved enough resources to respond to the new season of growth.

Winter is a difficult time for trees. Trees must endure the drying and cold winds, food reserves must be carefully conserved for the coming needs of spring and water will be lost from the tree. Hungry animals will feed on the resting buds and twigs.

Little things can help your trees effectively survive a long winter. A few small investments now can payoff in a big way, yielding a healthy and structurally sound tree.

The author is owner of Second Nature Lawn Care, Nashville, Tenn.

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