Winter storms can be really harsh on trees if your trees are not properly taken care of. Ensure that your trees will be able to withstand any storms they encounter this winter without getting damaged.
#1 Trim Away Troubled Branches
The first thing you need to do if you want to protect your tree from winter storm damage is make sure that your trees are properly trimmed before winter strikes. Fall is a great time to trim and prune your trees.
When you trim your trees, focus first on getting rid of old, damaged and diseased branches. Cut away any branches that are broken or growing at strange angles. Get rid of branches that stick out from the rest of the tree and hang out on their own.
If the tree is near your home, garage or storage shed, trim any branches that are growing over these structures. You don't want the branches to break and fall on the roof during a winter storm. Additionally, if any of your trees are close to the power lines, trim back the branches so that your power lines have at least a couple of free feet of space between themselves and your trees.
Getting rid of troubled branches before winter hits will help protect your tree and your home from damage.
#2 Protect Your Trees Roots
Second, make sure that you protect your tree's roots. To start with, apply fertilizer around the base of your tree. This will help keep the roots strong and well-fed throughout the winter.
Next, put down a protective layer of mulch under your tree. The mulch should extend around the entire root base of your tree. This may not be that wide if you have young trees. However, if you have older trees, the root base could extend a couple of feet in diameter around your tree. Make sure that you don't put the mulch right against the trunk of the tree though; leave a couple of inches of breathing room between the trunk of the tree and the mulch.
The mulch that you lay down should be a couple of inches thick. This will help keep the roots warm and protected throughout the cold winter.
#3 Gently Remove Snow
Finally, you can also gentle remove snow from your trees. After it snows, very gently shake your trees to get the snow off the branches. Doing this right after it snows will prevent snow from building up on your branches and will prevent your branches from getting iced over when the snow melts and re-freezes. Be sure to be gentle; if you are too aggressive, you could damage the branches on your young trees.
This is best done to young trees that have thin branches that may not be able to handle the weight of a lot of snow. Older trees with stronger branches should be able to handle the snow that falls on them.
If you trim back troubled branches, protect your tree's roots and work to keep excessive snow off your tree's branches, they should be able to withstand the strongest winter storm without getting damaged or harmed. To learn more about lawn maintenance, contact services like Sunlight Landscape.
