A typical winter in Mid Michigan is brutal on landscape plants, and the two most common types of winter plant damage that we see every year are Winter Burn and damage from deer.
However, there are a few things that can be done to protect your plants from the harsh conditions of winter so your landscape can bounce back healthy and strong come spring. And the time to take action is NOW!
Winter Burn Prevention
Winter Burn is a stressful condition for plants where foliage dries out and dies off due to cold temperatures, drying winter winds and frozen ground combining to deprive plants of their natural moisture uptake.
Broadleaf evergreen shrubs (such as Boxwood, Rhododendron, Holly and Euonymus) and young evergreen trees (such as Pine, Fir, Spruce, Arborvitae and Yew) are particularly susceptible to this problem.
The most effective way to combat Winter Burn is with the application of an anti-desiccant spray. These sprays form a clear, colorless, flexible coating on the plant foliage and stems, which substantially reduces water loss during the harsh winter months without interfering with plant growth or affecting plant health.
Anti-desiccants are applied twice over the course of the winter: once during early winter and then again in mid-February. The timing of both applications is VERY IMPORTANT because the temperatures must be above freezing for the spray to form the protective coating on the plant foliage without freezing.
The first 2 weeks of December are usually the ideal window of opportunity for the first application, so if you’re interested in protecting your plants from Winter Burn this winter, DON’T DELAY – CALL US TODAY!
Deer Damage Prevention
When the snow is deep, the ground is frozen and the temperatures are frigid, deer will eat whatever they can find. This often means landscape plants. Frequently damaged plants include yews, rhododendrons, hollies, roses, euonymus and arborvitae. However, in extreme conditions deer have been known to eat just about any plant.
There are a couple of ways that we help our customers protect their winter landscapes from hungry deer. We can apply organic sprays to your plants that repel the deer. Also, we can build reusable fence panels. These provide a physical barrier that actually looks attractive in the winter landscape as they protect your plants from deer. We can build these panels, put them up, take them down in the spring, and store them for you to use from year to year.
So if you live in an area with a lot of deer and you want to prevent your landscape from becoming a “winter salad bar”, NOW is the time to do something about it. Call us today!