Prepare Your Trees for Winter

Wondering how to care for your trees once the cold weather sets in? Get started this weekend with a few tips from Tree Trust's Community Forestry Manager, Karen Zumach.  

Water, water, water! We’re in a drought and large trees need our assistance. Don’t forget your boulevard trees, they need water too! Over the next few weeks, placing your hose on a slow trickle around the dripline of your tree for 30-60 minutes will go a long way to helping your tree survive the drought. Increasing the soil moisture is the name of the game, keep your hose on a low flow to decrease the possibility of run off.

Rake. If you have spots on your leaves from fungus or other nefarious leaf issues, it’s important to rake them up and get them out. Fungus and bacteria can survive in the soil through the winter and reinfect your tree/shrub in the spring. 

Protect. Most ornamentals are quite delicious to our furry friends, so be sure to create some sort of exclusion area, either with chicken wire or plastic tubing around the trunk (be careful if you’re using chicken wire, you don’t want to knick the bark!). If you have thin-skinned, young trees like maple or basswood, wrap them before the snow flies to protect the tree from sun scald.

Plant. Fall is a great time to plant for two reasons: the weather is perfect and you can’t beat the sales at the garden centers. Stay local if you can. You don’t want to buy a tree from a big box store because chances are good that it’s spent a large portion of its life living somewhere much warmer than here meaning it won’t be acclimated to our chilly winters. Make sure you plant your tree the right way!

The cool autumn weather is a great time to do yard work. Take advantage of the great weather and care for your trees before the snow flies!

 

Water your trees!

Minneapolis has had one of the driest falls on record and very low snowfall this winter, which means that trees need to be watered! If we receive less than once inch of rainfall in a week, water the trees in your yard and boulevard. The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board plants and prunes trees on the boulevard, but does not water them. We have had many years of drought in the Twin Cities and all trees should be watered, not just young trees.

How does one inch of rainfall translate to a watering with a hose? An easy way to make sure that trees get enough water is to run your hose at a trickle for an hour under the crown of the tree. Make sure to set a timer so you don't forget to turn off the water!

A good way to remember to water is to make sure that you do it on the same day each week. A common suggestion is to water your trees on garbage day.

Additionally, a good layer of mulch will help the soil retain moisture. At Tree Trust we prefer shredded mulch over wood chips. When mulching, remember: doughnuts, not volcanoes! The mulch should be a doughnut shape around the trunk and should not touch the trunk. Weeding around the tree will also prevent weeds from competing with the tree for moisture.

Keep your trees healthy and happy and they will return the favor through increased property values, decreased heating and cooling costs, and better air quality. Besides all that, who doesn't enjoy a nice spot of shade on a hot summer day?

This Weekend's Yard Work

Plenty of people are wondering what kind of work they can do in their yards during the upcoming weekend. Tree Trust's Landscape Services Department has a few tips.

Water

There has been some rain lately, but we had a dry fall and winter. Lawns shouldn't need to be watered unless they are newly seeded or sodded. On the other hand, trees and shrubs are using immense amounts of energy at this time of year to produce new leaves and flowers and they may need water.

Check soil moisture by digging 3-6 inches deep in a few locations. If the soil is dry your trees or shrubs need water. One inch of water per week is a general guideline, but there is no substitute for digging in the soil and checking moisture content. If we are receiving steady rain, there is no need to water.

Bed Maintenance

Clean out planting beds! Remove leaves or debris around plants and cut back any spent perennial plant material left from last season to make room for new growth.

Mulch

Feel free to mulch trees and shrubs. At Tree Trust we prefer shredded mulch over wood chips. When mulching, remember: doughnuts, not volcanoes! The mulch should be a doughnut shape around the trunk and should not touch the trunk.

Plant
Plant trees and shrubs, but steer clear of other plants that have lower frost resistance. Learn how to plant your tree correctly.
 
Don't Prune!
Now is not the time to do any formative pruning of trees or shrubs. Trees are using tons of energy to produce new leaves and flowers. You don't want to divert the energy being used to leaf and flower to healing a pruning wound – unless it needs to be done due to storm damage.

Particularly avoid pruning oak, ash, and elm trees because of oak wilt, emerald ash borer, and Dutch elm disease. When a tree is healing a wound from pruning, it puts out pheromones that the elm bark beetle and the emerald ash borer are drawn to. Additionally, the tree is using a lot of energy to grow and you don't want to add to the stress level of the tree.

There is a lot that you can do to clean up your yard this weekend while enjoying the beautiful weather, just don't be too aggressive. No need to tear up the turf with raking if your yard is still spongey, and no need to plant anything that might be killed by frost. There is plenty of time yet this spring to get everything done.