We here in Baton Rouge may not get the harsh winters of the Midwest, complete with blizzards and record-setting low temperatures, but it is still important to consider what you’ll do to prepare your trees and landscaping for the winter months, and to generally care for your trees throughout the entire year.
Here are a few important tree maintenance tips for winter in Baton Rouge that you should do your best to follow to ensure healthier, longer-living trees:
- Prune: One of the best things you can do for the long-term health of your trees is make sure you keep up with pruning. Prune trees to remove dead wood and branches. This will prevent them from falling and becoming a danger to any people or structures underneath. It will also improve the health of the tree—it can divert all of its energy to branches that are actively living and growing.
- Use mulch: When the weather gets colder, mulch can help provide some extra insulation on the ground to protect the soil, roots and plants from being damaged by the cold air. This is especially important in areas that see freezing and thawing cycles. Mulch helps maintain a consistent soil temperature and prevents rapid moisture loss. Try to maintain about two or three inches of mulch around the base of your trees, particularly those that are still young. Late fall and early winter are the best times for you to add this mulch. Avoid letting it pile up against the tree—apply it in a donut shape around the trunk.
- Water: Continue watering your trees. Water is an important insulator. Plant cells that get plenty of water will be much stronger and more capable of surviving cold weather. This is especially important for newly planted trees. Plus, moist soil actually stays warmer than dry soil. If you see a freeze in the forecast, you can stop watering your trees.
- Wrap trunks: In some environments, it can be beneficial to use special tree wrap to wrap the trunks of trees, particularly new trees. “Sunscald” can occur during fluctuating winter temperatures, causing the trunk cells to come out of dormancy but then get killed off during colder temperatures, resulting in ugly scarring around the tree. Wrapping the tree helps to prevent this.
- Keep pests away: A mesh wire around the base of your tree could help to keep some pests and critters away from the tree during winter time. If you follow the previous steps to keep the soil insulated in that area, it could attract some pests seeking warmth, so this mesh may be necessary to avoid these pests doing any damage to your tree.
If you’re interested in learning more about the steps you can take for better tree maintenance in Baton Rouge this winter, we encourage you to contact the team at Allan’s Tree Service today. We’d be happy to answer any questions you have and provide you with further information you can use to ensure your trees are properly cared for all year long.
Categorised in: Tree Maintenance
This post was written by Allan's