Tag: What is Winter Burn?

Salt damage, winter burn, frost heaving, and hungry rodents are just a few of the challenges our trees have to contend with during the winter. Although most trees we grow in New Hampshire are experts at living through the cold months, we can still help them overcome seasonal challenges, so they thrive next year—here’s how!

Understanding Salt Damage

De-icers keep our roads and walkways ice-free during the winter, but they have an unfortunate consequence on nearby trees and plants. Traffic on roadways can spray salt water onto trees throughout the winter, causing evergreens to turn brown and die back in the spring or killing the new buds on deciduous trees. A cluster of dead twigs, or “witch’s broom,” on the end of deciduous branches is a telltale sign of damage from salt spray.

Besides being sprayed with salt water, trees also suffer from salt dissolved into snowmelt penetrating the ground; this can leech off roadways or come from de-icers you apply to your property. When a tree absorbs salt ions, it exhibits similar signs as drought damage, such as scorched and curling leaves, stunted growth, susceptibility to disease, and even death.

How to Prevent Salt Damage in Moultonborough

There’s no need to let your trees suffer from our de-icing practices. Here are several ways to help them avoid and overcome salt damage:

Use Alternative De-icers: if possible, use coarse sand, gravel, or calcium chloride to prevent slipping on your walkways, and minimize or eliminate the use of sodium chloride.
Pile Snow Away from Trees: when shoveling salty or dirty snow from your hardscapes, don’t pile it near any trees or gardens. Instead, shovel it somewhere where the snow can melt off your property, not into the root zone of trees.
Erect a Barrier: set up a burlap screen, plastic fence, or snow fence in front of roadside trees that are subject to salt spray.
Improve Drainage Around Trees: adjust the grade in your garden or landscape so salty snow melts away from your trees, not towards them.
Flush the Soil in Spring: use water to flush away salt-affected trees, diluting any salty water and sending it deep into the ground, below the root zone.
Be Mindful of Salt-Intolerant Trees: white pine, sugar maple, eastern hemlock, basswood, and spruce are intolerant of salt. Give them extra attention to prevent salt damage, and avoid planting them near roadways. Salt-tolerant species include birches, ashes, poplars, red oak, and red pine, but keep in mind that even though they’re more salt-tolerant, they can still be damaged by it.

How to Protect Trees From the Cold

Most trees native to New Hampshire or hardy to our growing zone can withstand our winter, but that doesn’t mean that winter doesn’t pose a challenge for them. Evergreens are vulnerable to winter burn, which happens when they lose too much moisture through their needles.

The freezing and thawing cycles of winter can also cause damage to roots, and there is the weight of the snow itself. Whether you have young trees you want to protect or trees that are prone to winter burn, here are some strategies to help your trees withstand the cold:

Mulch the Roots: insulate the roots from fluctuating temperatures by mulching with bark mulch or wood chips. During extremely cold weather, you can pile extra snow around the roots of vulnerable trees. Remember to keep mulch 2 inches away from the trunk to prevent rotting.
Wrap Vulnerable Trees: broadleaf evergreens, like rhododendrons or arborvitae, are particularly vulnerable to winter burn. You can place a frame around them and wrap it with burlap to prevent moisture loss. Evergreens exposed to sunny areas or prevailing winds also lose moisture more easily during the winter. If necessary, set up a burlap screen to protect them from desiccating wind and sun. Remember to remove any wrapping in the spring to prevent overheating.
Water Evergreens in the Fall: water your evergreens regularly throughout October and November until the ground freezes to protect them against winter burn in the months ahead.

How to Protect Trees from Animal Damage

Rabbits and rodents pose a risk to trees over winter, especially young ones, which have softer bark. To prevent animals from girdling their trunks, wrap vulnerable trees with a plastic guard, metal mesh, or a metal cylinder. The cylinder should extend 2–3 inches below ground for mice and 18–24 inches above the snow for rabbits.

For more expert advice on protecting trees from salt damage and any challenges over winter, visit our garden center in Moultonborough, New Hampshire, and keep up-to-date with us on Facebook or Instagram.

Fall has arrived, and with it will soon come frost. We never know when it will come exactly, but it doesn’t have to take us by surprise. Here’s how you can anticipate the first frost, so you can save your plants and prepare for winter effectively!

Step 1: Know Your First Frost Date

The first step to anticipating frost is to be aware of the first frost date. That’s the average date we’ve historically received our first frost each fall. In Moultonborough, October 10 is the first frost date; that doesn’t mean that we receive frost every year on that day, but we should prepare for the possibility of frost in the weeks and days around that time.

Step 2: Check the New Hampshire Weather Forecasts

There once was a time when gardeners had to anticipate frost based on signs in the air and sky around them. Today, we can take advantage of weather reports. Keep an eye open for “frost advisories,” which are issued when nighttime lows are between 33 and 36 degrees, and “freeze warnings,” which occur when there’s an 80% chance of temps below 32 degrees.

Step 3: Intuit the Weather

Let’s face it; weather predictions aren’t always accurate. Plus, some days, you may forget to check the weather forecast altogether. That’s not a problem. Chances are, as a gardener, you’ve already developed an intuitive rapport with the weather around you. If you sense a brisk and unusually chilly feeling in the air at dusk, wake up to the possibility that frost may be coming. When anticipating frost yourself, it also helps to keep the following factors in mind:

How warm was it that day? If temps were above 75 degrees, there’s a slim chance you’ll receive frost that night.
Is it clear or cloudy? Cloud-covered skies prevent radiant heat from escaping the earth and thus reduce the likelihood of frost. Frost is more likely on clear nights.
Is it windy or still? Windy nights prevent cold air from collecting, thus reducing the chance of frost. On the other hand, a still night allows cold air to gather, giving frost the chance to work its magic.

Step 4: Consider Microclimates on Your Property

Microclimates can make frost more likely in some areas than others. Any place at the bottom of a hill, where cold air settles, is more likely to receive frost than on a hill or a south-facing slope. On the other hand, higher elevations may lower nighttime temperatures enough to bring frost to your property, but not your neighbor’s. Be aware of any cold pockets in your landscape and prepare accordingly when you’re reading the weather report or sensing a cold night ahead.

Preparing Your Plants for Frost and Winter in New Hampshire

Just because frost is coming doesn’t mean it has to spell the end of your garden. To protect your plants overnight and extend your harvest, you can cover them with a light, breathable tarp or old bedsheet. Make sure none of the plants are touching the covering, and use rocks to weigh down the edges so no cold drafts can enter.

How to Prevent Winter Burn on Your Plants

Anticipating frost also comes hand in hand with anticipating cold temperatures and preparing for winter. Winter burn, also known as windburn, can be prevented by preparations in the fall. Winter burn occurs on evergreen shrubs and trees that lose too much water over the winter. Sunny or windy exposures suck water from their needles, which the tree roots cannot replace when the ground is frozen. Winter burn appears as dead foliage in the spring.

To prevent it, water any vulnerable evergreens throughout the fall until the ground freezes. Mulch around the plant up to the drip line to retain moisture throughout the winter. Don’t prune evergreens in the fall, as pruning stimulates new growth and may prevent them from properly hardening off.

Watering Your Plants During the Winter

Besides preparations in the fall, winter watering may be helpful for some plants in your landscape. In particular, evergreens and young trees are susceptible to drying out, especially during dry periods with no snow or in windy and sunny locations. Watering them about once per month will help them retain the moisture they need during winter dormancy. Choose a time when temperatures exceed 40 degrees, and the soil is dry to the touch.

Anticipating the first frost and winter plant preparations are two important tasks in the fall garden. For more information, visit Stephens Landscaping Garden Center in Moultonborough, NH, and follow along on Facebook or Instagram!