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Winter Damage on Evergreens

October 21, 2020

Remember the winter damage on evergreens last spring? Winter injury is not caused by merely being cold. It is caused by cold winds and winter sun drying out the needles on mainly the south and west side of the tree. The condition is aggravated by winter thaws and getting cold again. This can also injure the roots of newly planted evergreens.

To help your evergreens thru this rough time, there are a couple of things we can talk about. Do not prune unless you are afraid of that branch coming down on the house in an ice storm.

The most important thing to do is slow water each tree before the soil freezes up. Since evergreens transpire moisture year long, it is important to have moisture in the soil. This is especially true for plants close to the house that does not get normal moisture.

If you are trying to grow broadleaf evergreens, wrap the shrub with burlap to cut down on winter transpiration.

For newly planted trees, mulch with 3 to 4 inches of straw or hay after the ground freezes. This helps insulate the soil, so it stays frozen to prevent the soil heaving. Keep the mulch away from the trunk to prevent rodent damage.

Fruit trees and fruit shrubs

Frost Cracks

October 21, 2020

We now know how to care for evergreens in the winter to prevent needle kill. What about trees that lose their leaves? If there are winter thaws during January and February, this can cause frost cracks going down the trunk especially on newly planted trees and thin bark trees like red maples.

Frost cracks are caused by the sap beneath the bark to thaw and rapidly freeze again went the night temps fall. The moisture in the sap will explode causing a vertical crack going down the trunk. If you are close at the right time, you can hear the exploding crack. In the spring when the tree leaves out, this crack can cause a problem with the health of the tree.

Prevention is the main step in preventing this condition. Start by placing a mulch down after the ground freezes to prevent the soil from warming up in mid-winter. By not mulching until the ground freezes also prevents rodents seeking out the mulch as a home.

As the trees get mature and the bark thickens and the branches grow and start to shade the trunk, frost cracking becomes less of a problem. Especially for young trees like fruit trees and maples, wrap the trunk with paper or plastic spiral wrap (this is reusable year after year).

Roses

Heirloom Rose

October 16, 2020

When looking for roses in next year’s garden, try an heirloom rose. These are older roses (many shrub roses) which the hybrid teas replaced in the last 30 years for their long blooming time. However, many of the older roses have a hardiness and disease resistance that can not be beaten. They also have odd colors that stand out and an old history of the family they are in.

I remember my Grandmother was in a rose club in Winner. Her house on Polk Street was surrounded by roses and climbing roses many I assume are now heirloom roses and never had a problem with winter kill.

For instance, the Apothecary’s rose is the oldest cultivated rose going back to the Crusades. The red color symbolizes the blood of the Christian martyrs. The petals were dried and rolled in beads which became the rosary.

Damask roses are an old variety of highly fragrant roses, usually pinkish in colors, used for fragrance in early French perfumes. A true shrub rose with double flowers.