Winter damage in the landscape is pretty common in Nebraska. We plant the right plants, in the right locations and then Mother Nature proves she has the upper hand. Winter damage can be desiccation, winter burn, frost/freeze injury, ice or snow loads and salt injury.
Desiccation happens when the plant starts to dry out. Evergreens will show this readily, as their needles discolor or brown during the winter or early spring. Don’t necessarily think the evergreen is a lost cause, as they may shed last year’s needles and regenerate as spring rolls around. Leafy trees and shrubs won’t show their damage until the new buds break and you see the tips of the plants are brittle show no signs of life. Winter burn is much like desiccation, though we apply this term to the boxwoods, holly, rhododendron and other broad leaf evergreens of the world.
Freeze injury can be so disheartening. It’s watching your little babies emerge from the ground and then poof! They’re brown, but hopefully not gone. Freeze injury happens readily in spring and fall. Early flowering plants, plants on the south side of a home’s foundation and warm temps cause these guys to wake up too soon and are then affected by the freezing temps. We once saw dwarf burning bush with a fresh crop of tender, new leaves get zapped by frost…they never recovered the entire growing season! They did make a come back the following year and have been fine ever since. Freeze injury can also crack the bark on trees. Don’t cover your trunks, just let mother nature heal herself.
Ice storms and heavy snowfall slow down our lives and a plant’s life. These events can cause bent or broken branches on trees and shrubs. You may see critter damage higher in the tree, as the snow rises, too. In 2018 we had a pretty decent year of snow and at one point had about 1-2′ of snow on the ground for a longer period. In one landscape, just 2 years into it’s growth, the rabbits went to every evergreen and chewed off the bottom 3′ of the tree to the trunk. They looked like mushrooms!
We see less salt damage every year due to the availability of different salt melting compounds. When salt was popular, it would find it’s way into the landscape bed and onto plants surrounding parking lots, streets and sidewalks. The result was browning leaves or needles in the winter and stunted growth in the spring. If you find salt has been applied and over-sprayed onto plants, you can try flushing the area and foliage with water.
Some winter damage can be prevented by selecting plants that are hardy to your area. Maintain adequate moisture to evergreens and suseptible plants in fall and early winter. Mulch after the first hard freeze in fall to insulate the ground from the rise and fall in winter temps. Anti-desiccants can be applied to broad-leaf evergreens to prevent browning over the winter months. Don’t encourage new growth in late summer and fall.
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