Preparing Your Landscape for Winter

Cold weather is on the way, and a little work now will help protect your landscape through the toughest months. Here are a few of our top winterization tips to keep your plants healthy until spring.

Prune and Trim
Lightly trim shrubs to maintain their shape. Older shrubs benefit from renewal pruning, which means removing about one-third of the oldest, thickest branches at the base. Winter is also the ideal time for tree trimming and dormant pruning. With no active sap flow and no insect or disease activity, you avoid stress on the plant and reduce the risk of infection. Learn more about pruning.

Protect Your Evergreens
Evergreens lose moisture throughout the winter, even when the ground is frozen. Help them stay healthy by spraying an anti-desiccant such as Wilt Pruf on spruce, pine, boxwood, arborvitae, holly, fir, and other evergreen varieties.
Apply once in November or December, again in January, and once more in February. Paired with occasional winter watering, this helps prevent winter-burn, dead patches, and in severe cases, complete plant loss.

Install Rabbit Guards
Give your young and ornamental trees a layer of protection with rabbit guards. White plastic corrugated pipe works best. Be sure it is tall enough to protect the trunk even when snow piles up. As a bonus, these guards also help reduce the risk of frost crack.

Need Help?
Need help with winterizing your landscape? Call the professionals at Jensen Gardens at 402.253.8880.