|
Boley Tree Care - Newsletter
11/26/2000, 11:46 am November Update Last year, we had the second warmest November, and now we are about to finish our second coldest. Certainly, the persistent snow cover is causing some angst while we are trying to install Christmas lights and rake up the last vestiges of fallen leaves. While we find the snow cover annoying, the plant life finds it a blessing. The crusted snow holds in soil moisture and acts as a blanket moderating changes in soil temperature. This, in turn, preserves many of the plant roots that are in the upper few inches of the soil. If the soil dries out, the turf as well as the woody plants will have to spend extra energy in the spring to rebuild these roots. We cannot count on this snow cover for the entire winter. Weakened plants fall prey to pests and other environmental factors. In the spring, turf predominantly on the south and west-facing slopes fall prey to mites - completely killing large expanses of grass. Evergreen trees and shrubs (especially those that are tightly sheared) often show "winter burn" where the foliage simply desiccates. Birch and other sensitive hardwood trees have prominent branch dieback. What to do?
If your lawn has experienced mite damage in the past, call
now to have a preventive mite
application scheduled for early this spring. Remember, by
the time turf greens up in the
spring - the mites have already done their work and it is
too late. This must be done
dormant. For your woody trees and shrubs, call now to
schedule winter watering
applications. These are done, with high-pressure soil
needles, periodically through the winter
when the weather is dry.
|