Getting your trees ready for winter

Along with your other fall garden chores, it's important to get the trees in your landscape ready for winter. Winterizing trees includes light pruning, adding some organic materials to the soil, watering and in the case of young trees, wrapping the trunk. Pruning this time of year should be confined to small branches and suckers.

Tree suckers are branches that can emerge from the base of the tree or low on the trunk. Trees that are under stress will tend to send up more suckers. Prune these branches off now. Small dead branches in the trees canopy can be removed now.

Using a sharp bypass pruner, cut these small branches near the main trunk. Other than small branches and suckers, any major pruning is best done in winter when the tree is dormant. This is a good time of the year to add organic material to the area under the tree. Peat moss, compost and humate applied now will work into the ground through the winter, improving the soil your tree roots are growing in. This will promote stronger root systems which in turn will make your tree healthier over all. Compost and peat moss can be applied in thin layers to the area under the tree.

Humates are also a good source of organic material. HuMic is a granular product that will break down clay, improve soil structure and increase microbial activity in the soil. Adding HuMic helps your tree take up nutrients more effectively.

When you're finished adding humate and organic material, water the tree thoroughly. A good rule of thumb to remember is your tree needs about 10 gallons of water per inch of trunk diameter. If your sprinkler system is shut off, you can water by hand or use a simple lawn sprinkler. The key is to water at a slow enough rate that the water soaks in and doesn't run off.

Finally, young deciduous trees need to have their trunks wrapped. This is to prevent damage from the winter sun.  It’s not unusual for winter temperatures to reach 60° Fahrenheit in the daytime. When it gets this warm during the day, the low winter sun heats up the tree bark, especially on the south and southwest sides of the tree. The sun’s warming action breaks the tree's dormancy and the cells on that side of the tree wakeup and become active.  When the temperatures fall after sunset, the active cells and tissue die.

The damaged area will often shrink and discolor. Later in the season, the bark may fall off, leaving a long scar. Applying tree wrap now is a quick and simple way to protect the tree from the winter sun.

Tree wrap is a corrugated paper product, sold in 50' and 150' rolls.

Start at the base of the tree and spiral the wrap upward to the first primary branch.

Overlap each turn about 1/3rd. Once you reach the first set of branches, loop the tree wrap over a strong, sturdy branch and tape it, so it will stay in place. Apply tree wrap so the printed side is out. A good rule of thumb is to wrap your trees around Halloween and remove the wrap around Easter.  You should wrap trees for the first six or seven years after you plant them. Adding organic material, wrapping and watering your trees will help them survive the winter and emerge healthier in the spring.