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Protecting Trees from Winter Injury

Many of our trees and shrubs can dry out over winter. In some cases, drying out causes considerable damage to the plants.

Mulching the soil around new shrubs or trees helps conserve plant moisture. Mulches prolong the period of new root development on recently planted stock and moderate extreme soil temperature changes during winter.

They also prolong the dormant period of the plants in spring. This reduces the chance in late spring of injury to new leaves and flowers. Apply mulch just after the soil freezes. Mice and other rodents may use the mulch for nests if you apply it earlier.

Wood chips, sawdust, or leaves are the best mulches. Mulch consistency should be coarse enough so it does not blow away.

Wrap trunks of new planted, thin-barked trees with tree-wrap paper to prevent sunscalding of the bark. Closely spaced trees in nurseries help shade each other. Trees you transplant to open areas receive full exposure to winter sunlight. If you do not protect them, sunscalding can damage or kill tissue under the bark.

Evergreen landscape plants, because they hold their needles year-round, lose water from their foliage all winter. Newly planted evergreens often have root systems too small to absorb enough water during the winter. As a result, they often turn brown.

You should also protect your plants from rodents. Clean up old, diseased or insect-infected foliage or fruit. Place hardware cloth or plastic spiral protectors around the trunks of small trees, such as flowering crabs, cherries or plums to protect them from rodents. You can use chemical repellents with shrubs and ground covers.

If you have further questions, please contact your county office of the NDSU Extension Service.

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For More Information Contact your North Dakota County Extension Office of the NDSU Extension Service for additional information or see our main NDSU Web Page for publications and articles on Agriculture, Horticulture, Youth and Family, Business and Community and Food and Nutrition at  http://www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/