It's best to avoid fertilizing evergreens during the winter, because it can encourage them to put out a new flush of growth during the cold weather. This new growth is more sensitive and can be prone to winter burn. Additionally, most evergreens are partially dormant this time of year and will naturally be in a slower part of their growth cycle.
It's best to avoid pruning your evergreens in the winter, because the additional foliage can help protect them from cold damage. You can always remove dead or broken branches, but save hard pruning for another time of year.
Many evergreens will show some color change during winter due to a combination of environmental conditions and changes in the plants' natural cycles. For some this may mean a more muted color, and for others it means they may take on another color tint like red, purple, or bronze.
Winter is not the typical time for new mulch installation, and it's best to avoid disturbing the mulch so that moisture and heat can be retained. The exception is if new plants are installed, such as trees that may need fresh mulch applied for their tree ring.
In a majority of cases, herbicides are not necessary for weed control if a garden receives consistent upkeep. A pre-emergent is a type of herbicide that prevent weed seeds from germinating. Always choose the right herbicide for your application, pay attention to where you spray, and always follow packaging directions. With herbicide, more is not always better, and in many cases over-applying can cause a weed's foliage to wither so fast that the herbicide is not translocated into the root system by the plant. This makes it easier for the weed to come back after the spray, among other environmental and health risks.
You can continue your watering schedule right up until the ground freezes, no matter what the calendar says. Watering plants before winter fully sets in can help protect them from cold injury, and this is especially true for evergreens. Since evergreens hold onto their foliage, they can lose a lot of moisture during dry and windy conditions, and so it's important for them to have a reserve of water going into the coldest span of the year.
If there are consecutive warmer days, it's a good idea to water your evergreens throughout the winter as well. This can be as much as once a month if the weather allows (just make sure to disconnect and winterize your hose and spigot again when you’re finished).
The USDA defines regional zones based on the average extreme winter temperatures for an area, and separates the zones in 10-degree F increments and 5-degree F half zones. When plants are assigned a set of zones, it means that it should be able to consistently survive in those expected yearly low temperatures. In Cincinnati we're at the southern edge of Hardiness Zone 6. When plants are assigned a set of zones, it means that it should be able to consistently survive in those expected yearly low temperatures. You may have seen plants rated for "hardiness zones" and wondered what that means.
There are some plants that may still be damaged if there are unusually low temperatures at the low edge of the zones they are rated for. They may also perform differently in a growing locations that is at the far top vs. far low edge of a particular zone, as the actual area within a zone is a spectrum. These zones are also adjusted based on changes in average temperatures over time, and an area can become part of a different zone when updates are made.
Another factor to keep in mind is how rapidly temperature changes. Rapid cold snaps can do damage to plants that are otherwise hardy at those temperatures, because the plants may not have enough time for their protective biological mechanisms to work. Broadleaf evergreens like Boxwoods, Hollies, and Laurels can all especially be harmed by this.
They can shift water in their cells between their foliage and root systems, and when temperatures get colder they often send much of the moisture out of their leaves toward the roots. Since there is less water in the leaf cells, even if that water freezes it is unlikely to expand enough to burst cells and kill the leaves. Meanwhile the roots and the water in them are warmer due to the insulation of the ground and mulch. However if temperatures drop too much too quickly, the plants won't have enough time to move their water.
Winter is not the typical time for new mulch installation, and it's best to avoid disturbing the mulch so that moisture and heat can be retained. The exception is if new plants are installed, such as trees that may need fresh mulch applied for their tree ring.
Mulch serves numerous purposes in the landscape - preserving soil moisture, keeping soil temperatures from reaching extreme highs and lows in the root zone, adding nutrients to the soil and improving soil texture as it breaks down, preventing soil erosion, inhibiting weed growth, and enhancing the look of the garden.
There are many types of mulch materials available for residential gardens, but by far the most common are bark mulches. Some of the other options and variations you may see are wood chips, synthetically dyed bark mulches, bark chips, pine straw, leaf mulches, stone mulches, and plastic mulches.
Fully organic mulches like un-dyed bark mulch, wood chips, and pine straw will always be superior at improving soil texture and nutrients because they are able to break down properly. This makes them some of the best options for plant health. Dyed bark, and especially stone and plastic mulches, are often chosen for aesthetics, and the stone and plastic in particular because they don't have to be reapplied as often, however all come with drawbacks for for plant health in the short and long term.
The pros and cons may make one type of mulch the better choice on a slope, or around a pool deck, or on a woodland edge, but proper application is important no matter the type. That means laying mulch at a proper depth and reapplying at appropriate intervals to keep it serving its purpose. Too thin or too thick of a mulch layer, of any type, can lead to problems with moisture, temperature, and more.
J.R. Thomas Landscaping ~ 10464 St. Rt. 48 Loveland, Ohio 4514 ~ 513-677-4340