This winter was truly amazing. The ground hadn’t froze prior to the unprecedented snow and record breaking low temps. Now, here we are in March with 60° weather and sunshine! Don’t get me wrong, I’ll take the 60°’s over the -20°’s any day, but what does this mean for the landscape plants, trees & shrubs?
When we talk about snow, we don’t usually think of mulch at the same time. Different seasons mean different projects. In the plant world, however, mulch and snow can perform the same job. They can both insulate your plants.
Cold winters with no snow cover can be hard on plants. Plants will continue transpiration (loss of moisture through the leaves/needles) throughout the winter months. If the environment is dry with low humidity, it can lead to desiccation and dieback or even death of plants. In Lincoln, we typically see desiccation over the winter on our evergreens, as the needles will start to turn brown in mid-late winter. Dieback occurs when the tips of the branches don’t receive enough or store enough water, leading to the tips of the branches dying back to a certain point on the stem. It can be difficult to tell if perennial flowers die over the winter, since they naturally die-back to the ground after the first hard freeze.
Another way the cold winters attack our landscapes, is through the natural freeze-thaw cycles. When the temperature warms during the day, then freezes at night, this can be especially hard on plants. We will notice this in the late fall and early spring seasons in Lincoln. The freeze-thaw cycle is really tough on plants and shrubs planted on the south side of a brick house. The brick will add to the heat of the day, confusing the plant into budding out with new leaves. Then at night, the freezing temperatures will set the plant growth back. When this happens frequently, it can be too much for the plant and it eventually dies. This happened last spring as we had a week worth of warm temps, my butterflybush were budding & then we had a few of 17° nights and they never recovered.
This year, we were fortunate enough to have snow (ok, a lot of snow) when we were hitting the truly brutal cold temps. The snow, acting like mulch, insulates the roots from the cold or fluctuating temps. Snow also has the added benefit of re-hydrating the soil. So the next time you see snow covering your plants, be thankful for the free insulation and watering that nature is providing us!
Nebraska Nursery & Color Gardens
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