Oftentimes in the winter, we begin to become more concerned with the health of our landscape. Everything is smooth sailing during the milder temperatures of the rest of the year, but winter in Pennsylvania brings about a cold that even the original colonists were wary of. Turning attention to the livelihood of your lawn, and winterization of your irrigation system, it can be tough to create a comprehensive checklist that covers it all. That is what we are here for, to remind you of those easily missed pieces of maintenance. Funny enough, it is commonplace for the largest plant material on your property to be the most overlooked. When they lose their leaves, we forget they still need care. Here are some easy ways to maintain your trees, shrubs, and bushes in the winter.
Late Fall Fertilization
Unlike some other parts of the country, fertilizing in the late fall is actually a recommendation. This is because your plant material, and especially your larger plant material, can use this boost in nutrients right up until temperatures become extreme. We all know the value of lawn fertilizers, but tree and shrub fertilizers are much less talked about. The specific type you need to use depends on the nutrient needs of your specific variety. These nutrients will help hold over plant material until the spring when they become more readily available, and to fight off disease during the winter.
Horticultural Oil for Insect Infestation Prevention
Another way in which we like to protect your plant material during the winter is with an application of horticultural oil in the late fall. This type of treatment can be used to keep away pests that would otherwise infest your plant material and can cause permanent damage. Your plant material is most vulnerable in the winter when there is no growth occurring, so fall application is the most effective. Combined with active monitoring of plant material, this should keep away pesky pests.
Winter Water Retention
One of the nutrients that become wildly scarcer in the wintertime is water. If it is around, it is usually frozen. This means that you need to optimize the amount of water that your plant material retains when it does come around. Our favorite way to do this is with an application of an anti-desiccant spray. This is a protective wax coating that can be applied to evergreens – reducing water loss. Water is an essential component of so many chemical processes within your plant material, and we cannot overstate the importance of retention for the long term health of your trees, shrubs, and bushes.
Active Inspection and Monitoring
As we briefly mentioned before, active monitoring is an essential piece of plant health. While these many preventative methods can be applied to your plants in hopes that they fight off predators, infestation at a small level might be inevitable. If it is inevitable, you need to make sure that you or a professional is actively looking out for disease, pests, or general decay. The earlier any of these problems are caught, the easier they are to deal with.
Dream Greener Lawn & Landscape is led by a staff of service experts, each with ten years or more of professional experience, focused exclusively on lawn care & maintenance, landscaping and snow & ice management. Locally owned and operated, we are proud to serve the greater Pittsburgh area. Give us a call today at (412) 835-1035.
