Prepare Newly Planted Trees for Winter

Trees can beautify our landscape, provide needed shade (helping eliminate the need for day-long air conditioning, saving energy and money) and help oxygenate our air through photosynthesis. They also increase the value of your home with their aesthetic value. Special care should be taken to protect your young trees in winter, especially from damage from wind, frost, harsh sun and ice. Places such as Minnesota have particularly harsh winters; however, all areas have some type of climate change and your young trees can be damaged. Preparing your trees for the seasons will pay off year after year in beautiful foliage.

Steps

  1. Purchase special tree wrap available at your local nursery or home improvement store and ensure that you have enough for all your newly planted or thin-barked trees, such as maples and willows. The new trees should be protected with wrap for 2 winters; the thin-barked trees should be protected for 5 or more winters.
  2. Protect any deciduous (leaves drop annually) trees from sun scald using paper wrap or plastic tree guard by wrapping your tree's trunk up to the first branches. Be sure to overlap the layers and secure them with tape or twine. You can remove this wrap in early spring.
  3. Protect your evergreen trees from cold, dry air by applying burlap or boughs on the areas exposed to wind, such as the southern face of your tree.
  4. Place a mulch layer of about 4 to 8 inches (10.2 to 20.3 cm) around your tree's base but do not let it touch your tree's trunk, and spread the mulch at least 2 feet (0.61 m) out from the trunk. Mulch will protect your tree's surrounding soil from frost and help provide moisture for your tree's root system by retaining water.
  5. Provide enough water, especially at the root ball of newly planted trees, before the ground freezes, to keep your tree hydrated. Newly planted trees do not yet have a root system that is established enough to reach water deep in the ground.
  6. Protect your trees from damage from animals that chew on the bark in winter by installing a plastic tree guard or other hardware specifically made for trees around the bottom of your tree and approximately 1 foot (0.3 m) higher than the average snow level.
  7. Tie any center branches together loosely with twine, especially those of evergreen trees (with foliage year round, they are more susceptible to holding snow and ice), to help stop splitting and breaking from ice buildup and winter storms. In spring, prune any damaged branches out to prevent disease and more breakage.

Tips

  • Be sure to water all trees extremely well in fall and before your trees go into dormancy. It is not always the freeze itself that will damage or kill your tree, but lack of water and dehydration. A good rule of thumb is to prepare your trees around Thanksgiving; however, you should check with your local nursery for more specifics on your species of trees and geographic area.

Warnings

  • Take care when wrapping or tying anything to your tree so that the tree's trunk is not damaged by the tying materials, such as wire. Any damage, even the smallest cut, can cause your tree to be susceptible to diseases and/or ice buildup in that area.

Things You'll Need

  • Tree wrap, either plastic or paper
  • Mulch
  • Tree guards
  • Burlap or fresh tree boughs
  • Pruning shears
  • Tape or twine
  • Garden hose and water

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Sources and Citations

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