If you just bought some new landscaping shrubs for your Lancaster home, you might be wondering how to care for them during the winter months. Do you have to water them on a daily basis? How much sunlight should they get? What can you do to protect them from Pennsylvania’s harsh winters? Here is a guide you can use to care for your shrubs.
Winter can be brutal on your new landscaping shrubs, but it doesn’t have to be with some care and planning on your part.
The winter sun can do almost as much damage to new landscaping shrubs as the spring and summer sun. You can help mitigate a lot of this damage by wrapping the shrubs’ trunks in some type of protective material, like burlap or corrugated paper that is a light color. You want to keep the bark from experiencing extremes in temperature.
You can also protect your landscaping shrubs from winter’s harsh and frigid temperatures by making sure the shrubs get plenty of water in the late fall. Sometimes, temperatures outside are quite cold but the leaves of the shrubs can get warm in the sun, which results in transpiration. That can pull water away from the landscaping shrubs, which means they will not get as much water as they need. A lot of water in the fall can help (the amount of water needed will depend on the specific type of shrub), and you can water them on warm days throughout the winter (if we get any!).
Winter burn is a serious threat to new landscaping shrubs. You can keep this from happening by using evergreen branches to form a wind break over the shrubs. Mulch is also another great way to help protect your new landscaping shrubs’ root systems. The type and amount of mulch needed also depends on the type of shrubs you buy, and we can advise you on this as well.
With a few simple precautions on your part, your new landscaping shrubs will be good to go next spring!
For more information on landscaping shrubs near Lancaster, call Root’s Nurseries at 717-898-0041, or you can contact us to get a Free Estimate.
