5 tips to prepare for winter

The change in the seasons means the focus for some landscape managers shifts from maintaining greenery to moving snow.

Yet the winter season provides an optimal time for maintaining trees. Follow these tips to get ready for the cold months ahead.
 

Pruning.

Shawn Fitzgerald, technical advisor for The Davey Tree Expert Co., says winter is the best time to prune. “You’re pruning the plant material when it’s dormant, so it can tolerate you removing much more than it could when it’s growing,” Fitzgerald says.

Pruning to remove dead branches is an important step to improving safety in high-traffic areas. Lifeless branches are more susceptible to break and fall under the weight of winter snow and heavy winds.

Rich Chilcoat, a national sales manager for Davey Tree, says it’s much easier and more effective to prune proactively instead of reactively.

“You can’t let it go because it can be a safety issue,” Chilcoat says. “Pruning, if you ignore it, can cost you big time.”
 

Mulching.

Young trees benefit greatly from a proper, fresh mulch application just before winter. Mulch helps regulate soil temperatures to prevent freeze-thaw cycles, which can cause a young tree’s roots to heave up out of the ground – creating an unstable and unhealthy condition.

High quality organic mulch helps keep organic matter in the soil – a bonus for the root system – and also helps to conserve soil moisture and prevent weeds.

Don’t apply too much mulch. Organic mulch is most effective at a depth of 2 to 4 inches, and it should be kept 2 to 3 inches away from the tree’s base. If too much is piled against the trunk, it can promote rot and kill the tree.
 

Inspecting.

Davey Tree’s R.J. Laverne, ISA board certified master arborist, recommends a visual inspection of a client’s trees to determine if they’ve become a liability that needs to be removed.

Examine the roots. If there is decay, the ground near the tree’s base may be heaving up. If there is decay-producing fungi (which appear as mushrooms), it may be a critical-risk tree. Is the bark coming off or cracking? Is the tree’s trunk swollen? All these are signs of advanced decay and indicate a tree that may need to be removed. Also look for signs of insect infestation.

“Trees that have been attacked by insects such as the Emerald Ash Borer or Asian Longhorned Beetle are more susceptible to failing,” Laverne says.
 

Bracing for Ice.

Trees most susceptible to ice damage are upright evergreens, such as arborvitae and juniper. The best defense against ice damage is proper pruning of dead or weak branches before winter.

If a client finds branches coated in ice and snow, advise them not to try shaking the branches to break the ice or remove the snow. This can actually lead to more damage, as branches coated in ice become brittle, making them more susceptible to break. The trees will return to normal naturally as the weather warms.
 

Fertilizing.

Applying fertilizer to trees before winter will ensure they are ready for spring.

The key is timing, Chilcoat says. If you add winter fertilizer too early, trees may start to use it too soon.

Plants need time to process fertilizer, so the fertilization should be done in November or December to be most effective in spring.

“It provides plants something in their reserve tanks, so when they’re ready to emerge they’ve got available resources,” Chilcoat says.

The author is a project manager at The Davey Tree Expert Co.