Recommendations for the Care and Maintenance of Your Landscape in Preparation for Winter Some landscape plants need special protection during the winter months. Here are a few guidelines to help maintain the good health of your landscape plants and to minimize the damaging effects of winter winds and hungry animals. TREES & SHRUBS The trunks of smooth barked trees planted in fall or early winter should be covered with tree wrap to prevent sun scald and winter frost cracks. Usually, this should be done between November 15th and December 1st. The wrapping must be removed the following Spring, usually between April 15th and May 1st. Unless trees and shrubs are protected, rabbits, mice and other animals will feed on the bark and needles of many varieties during the winter season. Plants affected by this process, called girdling, are often stunted or disfigured and in some cases die back entirely to the ground. Also, flowering species may bloom and leaf out in the Spring only to suddenly wither and die after the initial growth spurt because the source of food to the upper part of the plant has been cut off. One of the best ways to protect your plants is to place a cylinder of ¼" hardware cloth around the trunks of young trees or entire shrubs. (Hardware cloth is a wire mesh product available at most hardware stores.) The cylinder should be 30" to 36" high and anchored into the ground by placing topsoil or mulch around the base of the cylinder. This will prevent small animals from crawling or burrowing beneath the fencing material. Remove the cylinder in Spring (usually by April 20th) and save it for the next winter. Some of the more susceptible landscape plants include: all the euonymous varieties; all Flowering Crabs, Hawthorns, Flowering Plums and fruit trees; Koreanspice Viburnum; Flowering Quince, Flowering Almond and Nanking Cherry; Hazelnut, Witchhazel and Japanese Maple. While these plants are most likely to be attacked, many other plant varieties may be affected if the snow cover is heavy enough and the animals become hungry enough. It is a good policy to periodically check plants for signs of damage during the winter. ROSES Tea and Hybrid Roses should be covered with Styrofoam cones or rose baskets. The mounding of 10" to 12" of topsoil around the base of each rose plant is generally advised if cones are not used. BROADLEAF EVERGREENS & SEMI-HARDY PLANTS Broadleaf evergreens and other tender plants are equally susceptible to the drying effects of the winter sun and wind. Plants with the greatest southern and western exposures will be the ones most affected during the winter months. It is best to protect them from serious damage by wrapping them with burlap or by covering them with evergreen boughs. GROUND COVERS & PERENNIALS As with certain broadleaf evergreens and tender plants, some ground covers need to be covered to prevent winter burn and the damaging effects of alternate freezing and thawing. It is best to use a material, such as evergreen boughs, that will not tend to pack down and smother the plants. Marsh hay may be used to cover strawberries and tulip beds. These protective materials should be applied after a good freeze has firmed the soil. Please feel free to contact Stano Landscaping, Inc. at 414-358-1800 with any of your landscape questions or concerns.