How To Keep Your Trees Healthy During The Winter

Aside from keeping you and your family warm during these cold winter months to come, your trees are also relying on you to protect them. Winter can be a harsh and stressful time for your trees too. To help them cope with the cold and wet season, you have to take a few steps to care for them. This is to ensure that they only incur minimal damages and will not result in tree removal Sydney procedures due to sudden death.

Winter is a dormant time for your trees. But, they are not completely asleep during these times. Most of them are experiencing the full impact of winter that not every tree species can endure. The older trees with thick woody barks and extensive roots can withstand these instances, but the newly planted ones lack those defences. The good thing is, you can do easy preventive measures to protect your trees from the harsh weather.

Here are a few tips on how to take good care of your trees through the winter.

Insulate the soil near tree roots with mulch.

Laying a layer of mulch for about 3-5 inches can insulate the soil over your tree roots. This helps retain moisture and warmth that will keep your roots healthy. The proper way of piling the mulch is in a "donut" distribution and not a "volcano" shape. It should be placed inches away from the base of the tree because too much moisture around the trunk can lead to decay.

Unlike the stems, branches, and buds, the roots do not become dormant in winter. Trees are prone to severe root injuries during the winter that can ultimately kill the roots, especially for newly planted trees if not prevented right away.

Protect your tree barks with a plastic tree guard.

Winter also limits the food sources for rodents and rabbits so they don't have a choice but to go out of their comfort zones to look for alternatives. Unfortunately, the closest to their food source is tree barks. These small animals like nothing better than to chew and bite on young, thin barks during the winter. Deers also tend to rub their bodies on them to stay warm. While these actions may seem harmless, they can ultimately injure or kill your tree.

To protect them from such dangerous moves, you can wrap a plastic tree guard on your tree barks up until below the first branch. They are a simple and inexpensive way to protect your trees.

Water the newly planted trees gently.

Unlike the bigger and older trees, newly planted ones only have small roots that do them no good in terms of drawing enough water from their surrounding areas. Lack of water and moisture in roots can result in death. So, to avoid this from happening, make sure to water your young trees slowly and gently to let them seep.

Create a makeshift shelter for young trees.

Young trees are prone to breaking easily under the weight of snow and can easily crumble down. Since winter is a harsh weather condition for your newly planted trees to get over, helping them would be vital for their survival. You can protect them by building a cocoon made out of burlap and then drape it over the small tree loosely so their branches won't break. You can also choose to create a small tent but taller than your tree with a few stakes to keep your fabric in place.

Carefully prune the branches that look weak.

Arborists say that winter is the best season to prune because the trees are dormant during this time. It is also a good time to cut off the diseased branches so as to not spread the problem even more. However, if you do not feel comfortable pruning your trees, or do not have the proper tools to do so, hire a professional to take care of them.

Winter tree care

If you are looking forward to fruitful years ahead with your trees, you should be caring for them in all kinds of seasons. Take the extra measures to protect them from the harsh winter weather and see them bloom healthily when the time is right. Whenever you are in doubt and do not know what to do with them, call your trusted arborist. You'll be glad that you did.