In the past, we’ve talked about smaller topics relating to what happens to your trees during the winter, and now, we want to take you through the ultimate guide of winter tree care and explore the winters affects on your trees, especially as we roll into this current winter season. Winter brings so many different problems that can lead to your trees not being able to recover from the aftereffects, and while we are responsible for being a tree removal company, we also work to preserve your trees first and foremost before anything else is done.
In this blog, we will break down the common effects of the cold winter weather on trees and explore how to care for them when it comes.
The Worries of Frozen Branches and Soil
This is just a reality that everyone has to face when winter comes around; your branches and soil will become frozen at some point. Normally, your soil, shrubs, and trees will become frozen from ice storms and extreme blizzards, and it’s important to address how you can manage these situations as they will occur quite often.
What Actually Happens
Photo credit: https://www.angi.com/articles/protect-trees-from-frost-freeze.htm (cj2a / Adobe Stock)
What people don’t realize is that what actually freezes isn’t necessarily the outside of the tree, but the water inside of it. Even with that in mind, there can still be sudden cold freezing temperatures that cause damage, leading to frost cracks or even tree death eventually over time. Trees can survive all of this, even if they still receive major damage from being frozen. If the bark on the tree becomes frozen enough, any major contact with it could damage the bark.
Frozen soil around your shrubs and trees is more of a result of the cold temperature and it can penetrate the ground so deep that it may go as far as 4 feet in depth. Your soil might go through a process called frost heaving where an upwards swelling of soil during freezing conditions is caused by an increasing presence of ice as it grows towards the surface. It’s basically like another form or erosion within the ground and it can be damaging to multiple different areas in and around trees and other plantlife.
How to Manage and Fix It
Photo credit: https://lakeviewnurseries.com/mulching-for-winter-protecting-your-garden-from-frost/
With all those big details taken into consideration, how can you manage it all? When the branches on your trees start to build up ice from being frozen, the damage will be severe to the point where they will break off. If you can, don’t try to fully bring the branches back up, only given them enough stability to where the weight isn’t fully coming down on them.
A great way to keep the soil intact around your trees without freezing is by applying a new set of mulch. Mulch helps to lock in moisture and regulate temperature as we mentioned already. In a past blog, we look at through this lens:
“The soil provides a tree’s root system some insulation from the harshest weather, but in the coldest temperatures (falling below 15°) tree roots can freeze through, disrupting root cells and interfering with water and nutrient uptake. This can make it more difficult for trees to thrive come springtime.”
Because we live in the Buffalo and Western New York areas, the plantlife of this part of the US being apart of some of the coldest and snowiest winters has allowed them to handle it more regularly. You are most likely going to be just fine and your trees and shrubs will survive through it, but we want to make sure that this information is known for when inspections are needed. Prepare for it and don’t be afraid to ask questions if you need help with finding problems.
Winter Tree Care FAQ
What are the most common tactics to help save your trees?
We did say that more than not, your trees will be fine through the winter as they go through their stages of hibernation, but lets always assume that something wrong can and will happen. It’s always best to learn about the best tactics needed to protect them.
Other than a tactic like mulching your soil to keep the tree safe and healthy, you’ll want to invest in pruning and trimming down your tree to prevent bigger damage. Depending on how much weight is on your tree’s canopy, you’ll want to be diligent with how much you take off when trimming and pruning. Roughly a quarter percent of your tree can come off if there’s enough on it to warrant taking that much off.
You’ll want to prune and trim specifically in the later months of winter, and not too early. Trees will be able to recover better if you follow that timeline. You’ll want to target those dead and diseased branches that were affected by snow and ice. No matter how you do it, make sure you keep the branches and other parts of the tree together so that it needs to stays healthy in the long run. If you need more information regarding that, visit our tree pruning and tree trimming pages! For more questions and if you need an arborist to help with inspections, reach out through our contact form, and we will be there to help!