Learn / Ask The Landscape Professional
Is there much I need to worry about during the winter as far as my garden is concerned?
Answer
Winter is the time for Care and Caution
1. Winter can be trouble for your shrubs and lawn. Avoid salt (sodium chloride)
to de-ice your walkways and driveway. Salt can harm lawns, plants
and shrubs. Consider using coarse sand or non-sodium de-icing agents
such as calcium chloride or calcium magnesium acetate (CMA), a salt-free
melting agent made from limestone and acetic acid.
* After a snow storm, brush snow from evergreens and shrubs as soon as
you can. Use a broom in an upward, sweeping motion. Serious damage can
be caused by heavy snow or ice accumulating on the branches. In really
heavy snow accumulations, there can be significant loads on roofs of buildings
and garages and you may need professional help. Sprigs & Twigs has
a bucket truck and crews that can get snow off your roof, so give us a call.
If shrubs have broken limbs from a storm or accumulated storm damage,
call us and we can take care of them.
* Avoid heavy traffic on the dormant lawn. Dry grass can be easily broken
and the crown of the plant may be damaged or killed.
2. Now is the time to review your vegetable garden needs for the year.
Analyze last year's harvest. Was you garden too large and too much to
handle last year? Perhaps a smaller garden with fewer weeds will be more
productive and easier to maintain. A fun activity this time of year is to check
out the new garden catalogs. When looking for vegetable varieties
to try, look for new ones with with improved insect and/or disease resistance. Also
drought-tolerant types are a big plus.
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About Linda Lillie
Linda K. Lillie is the President of Sprigs & Twigs, Inc, the premier
landscape design and maintenance, tree care, lawn care, stonework, and carpentry
service provider in southeastern Connecticut since 1997. She is a graduate of
Connecticut College in Botany, a Connecticut Master Gardener and a national
award winning landscape designer for her landscape design and landscape installation work.
