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snow removal

Snow in Your Landscape: Do’s and Don’ts

January 26, 2022

When it snows, gardeners may rejoice that a blanket of the cold stuff serves as welcome insulation during frosty weather, protecting plants from wind damage and moderating soil temperature. Of course, snow—and ice—are sometimes more destructive than helpful. Plan how to take advantage of snow’s benefits and minimize potential damage.

Tie up branches of evergreens with multiple leaders to prevent this kind of damage!

Things to do before a storm
If forecasters predict several inches of snow, preventing harm to your landscaping is easier than dealing with the aftermath.

  • Mark where your yard ends and the street begins. Putting up snow stakes may prevent snowplow damage to your street-side plantings. You can purchase commercial stakes or make your own from rebar or pressure-treated 1-inch by 1-inch wooden stakes painted orange. For our area, stakes 3 feet tall are tall enough—bury them 8- to 12-inches deep.
  • You may want to mark the location of garden paths or sidewalks to facilitate clearing them after the storm and to avoid inadvertently treading on your plantings.
  • If you have particularly vulnerable shrubs or trees, tying up branches or constructing shelters may help prevent breakage. Better yet, consider resistance to snow and ice damage when selecting trees and shrubs for your landscape (see list of more and less resistant tree species, below).
  • Think twice about using deicers before or after a storm—particularly salt-based ones—to avoid poisoning plants (see additional information about the benefits and risks of specific ice melters, below).

Minimizing damage after a storm
Your landscape may come through a storm unscathed but if not, take care to avoid causing even more damage to your plants or yourself!

  • Be careful about trying to remove snow or ice from trees and shrubs. 
    • Often it is best to leave snow or ice to melt on its own.
    • Never stand under a snow or ice laden tree—branches may break unexpectedly!
    • Shaking a tree to remove snow can do more harm than good.
    • Don’t try to remove snow using downward brushing. Rather, try reaching underneath branches from a distance with a broom or pole to dislodge snow.
  • Avoid shoveling snow onto your plantings. In addition to the weight of the snow, you may be adding soil, grit, and/or gravel to your beds.
  • Consult an arborist about whether you can save severely damaged trees: https://www.treesaregood.org/findanarborist/arboristsearch 
  • Use proper pruning techniques to remove damaged branches on trees and shrubs; see first link below for more resources about pruning and other management issues.
Leave snow and ice on young trees that bend because they can often recover by themselves when the snow and ice melt.
Shoveled snow often contains material you do not want in your planting beds!
Severely damaged trees may require removal or extensive pruning.

Take time to dream!
Be sure to survey your landscape during and after a storm, not only to prevent or repair winter damage, but to evaluate where you might add winter interest in future years, and what new projects you’ll undertake this spring, summer, and fall. Happy year-round gardening!

Article by Debbie Green, Extension Master GardenerSMVolunteer


For more information:

Preventing and Managing Ice and Snow Damage to Landscape Plants:
https://gardening.ces.ncsu.edu/2022/01/preventing-and-managing-ice-and-snow-damage-to-landscape-plants/

Information on ice melters: https://granville.ces.ncsu.edu/2016/01/ice-melters-and-their-effects-on-plants-2/

Ratings of trees’ ice storm resistance (p. 12)
https://www.kansasforests.org/community_forestry/community_docs/Trees%20and%20Ice%20Storms.pdf

 

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Categories General Gardening, Seasonal Chores Tags freeze, ice damage, landscape planning, snow damage, snow removal, winter garden chores

A prudent gardener regards the first snow as a harbinger…

January 21, 2016

Ice_Damage…of what lies ahead. Regardless, the calendar says that by now we should have located our snow removal gear and made sure that it’s in good repair, ready for action. If you’re mechanized make sure you’ve got the right oil in the engine and a full tank of gas.

How about your supply of sand or ice melter? In an emergency you can use a pelletized fertilizer but the runoff may put more nutrients in places you don’t need them. And refresh your memory by reading the directions on the ice melter you have. Generally they are salts and may damage concrete.

Think back over winters past. What problems did you have? And what should you do differently? Was your plow or shoveling pattern really the best? Did you find yourself walking over the same territory again and again? Or did you have to pick up and carry too much? Where did you pile the snow? Was it all in one pile that turned to ice and took months to melt when spring finally arrived?

Did any of your woody plants have problems with snow or ice? Should your plan include gently brushing or shaking any particular shrubs to dislodge snow while it’s still fluffy?

Do you, should you, make special arrangements for your pets? Are you feeding wildlife? While you’re at it, where’s your own Arctic weather outfit?

But my bottom line is the recommendation that if snow is in the forecast you should plan to get up early. Get outside before breakfast and get the snow removed before people drive or walk on it, compacting it, turning it to dangerous ice and making it much more difficult to remove.

Written by Glenn Palmer, Extension Master Gardener Volunteer

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Categories Seasonal Chores Tags snow removal, winter damage, winter garden chores

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