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After A Snowstorm, Give Your Shrubs & Trees A Helping Hand
PINE BROOK LANDSCAPING STAFF • January 16, 2020
Help Your Landscaping Recover After A Snowstorm
If what started off as a relatively benign winter takes an eventful turn, your lifestyle and surroundings will have to adjust. Once the storms pass, you will resume your regular routine, but the trees and shrubs around your home may still be reeling under the effects of the weather. Any sudden, rapid drop in temperatures, sustained low temperatures, or bursts of snow and ice can cause stress, injury or damage to the shrubbery and ornamental trees in your yard. The experts at PINE BROOK LANDSCAPING
offer some suggestions on how to care for your snow-damaged plants, shrubs and trees.
Snowstorms can have a devastating effect on the shrubs, trees and plants in your yard. While a proper pre-winter pruning may potentially prevent damage from a heavy snowfall, storms are accompanied by not just a blanket of snow, but also heavy gusts of wind, freezing rain and hail or ice pellets. Here are some of the steps you can take after the storm has passed completely:
- Check for Hazards: Before you approach the trees or shrubs, make sure that the surroundings are safe. Storms can damage your utility or power lines, roofs, fences and other parts of the property.
- Brush It Off Gently: Be careful when you knock the snow or ice off the branches, as this may cause the branch to snap. Ideally, just wait for the snow to melt on its own.
- Bent But Not Broken: If the tree or shrub looks bent or its small limbs are slightly damaged, it will probably recover without any specific care, once the snow or ice melts.
- Save Those Roots: If any young, recently planted trees have toppled over, you can save them by protecting their exposed roots from drying or freezing. However, if over a third of the roots seem exposed, you will probably need to have the tree removed.
- Pruning vs Over-Pruning: While pruning may be necessary to salvage some of your trees and shrubs, the loss of multiple branches may make them look unbalanced. Most trees will soon regenerate new foliage that will easily hide the bare patches. However, be careful not to over-prune. Removing more limbs than necessary may reduce the tree’s self-nurturing ability and cause further damage.
- Fertilize for Recovery: During early spring, apply a slow release fertilizer injected directly into the soil at the roots to speed up recovery of the trees and shrubs damaged by the storm.
- Clear the Fallen: If any of your mature trees with trunks over 12 inches in diameter have fallen, such trees will need to be cleared and removed from your property.
- Replace the Dead: If you need to remove any shrubs or trees post snowstorm, replace them with a stronger wooded species. Varieties such as maple, crepe myrtle, hickory and oak leaf hydrangea are more resistant to snow and ice storm damage.
Ensure Knowledgeable Shrub & Tree Care Services
While you can carry out minor clean ups after a snowstorm on your own, any major damage may need to be handled by the professionals. For example, your mature trees may need the use of a chainsaw or tall ladder, along with removal and disposal of large branches, or the entire tree. Instead of taking a DIY approach, hire the services of an expert who will conduct a thorough assessment and help you speed up the recovery of your trees and plants following a snowstorm.
With our quality craftsmanship and attention to detail, PINE BROOK LANDSCAPING
has been serving residents in and around Philadelphia, Bucks and Montgomery County for almost 30 years. We also offer landscape design, drainage and grading solutions, lawn care, commercial and residential maintenance, custom hardscaping
and outdoor entertainment areas. Our experts look forward to identifying your needs and delivering the options that will suit your preferences and budget. Click to contact Pine Brook Landscaping online or call 267-718-1771 and we will be in touch with you soon!
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