Over the years, Royal Creations Architectural Landscaping has heard a lot of myths about caring for your lawn and garden. Here are our top myths and what plants really need to survive the winter and early spring.
Myth: Plants don’t need water in winter.
While plants are dormant in the winter, that doesn’t mean they don’t need water. Water allows plants to regulate their temperature as well as transport nutrients. Dormancy slows down a plant’s metabolism, but they can’t go without a drink all winter any more than we can. For more information, check out our article on winter watering.
Myth: Plants don’t need food in the winter.
By the same token, being dormant means you do not fertilize in the winter. However, a fall fertilization provides your plants with food through the winter and into early spring. Without that food, plants have a hard time coming out of dormancy and greening up in the spring. We fertilize in the fall for our garden care clients when we clean out and refresh their landscape beds.
Myth: Winter sun is not harmful to plants.
Sunscald can happen in the winter to young trees or older trees with thin bark. Most of these do not have leaves in the winter to protect the bark. Wrap young trees with tree wrap from the bottom of the trunk to the first branches to protect them from the sun.
Myth: Pruning should wait until spring.
Pruning to remove growth should be done in late winter or early spring. However, pruning to remove dead or diseased branches should be done when they are found. Avoid pruning away freeze damage until spring because another freeze can cause more damage to the newly pruned branch.
Myth: Mulching is only for summer.
We recommend a three-inch layer of mulch in the spring, with another inch put down in the fall. The mulch protects plant roots from temperature fluctuations and helps prevent the soil from heaving or drying out.
Myth: Plants don’t need protection from winter winds.
Winter winds can whip across evergreen needles and dry them out, leading to winter burn. Treating evergreens with Wilt-Pruf in the fall can protect them from losing the moisture they need to avoid winter burn.
In addition, young plants can be damaged by harsh winds. Windbreaks that allow the sun in but not the wind can protect them from having branches broken off.
Myth: All pests are dormant in winter.
Pests frequently overwinter in dead plants or under the bark of trees. Cleaning landscape beds of plant debris can destroy these pests, so they do not attack your plants in the spring. Other debris, such as dead branches, cardboard, or lumber, can also shield pests, so keep your landscape neat.
Sign up For Garden Care Program
Now is a good time to sign up for Royal Creation Architectural Landscaping’s Garden Care Program. We will come out in the spring, clean the beds, and cut back perennials and prune out dead wood. The blue crew will also fertilize, apply pre-emergent, and apply a layer of dark mulch to make your property pop and help get the plants started off right for the growing season. If you are interested in signing up, please call our office at 816-825-2524 or schedule a consultation.
Trees and shrubs are valuable members of your outdoor living space. Protect your investment by winterizing trees and shrubs to avoid winter damage.
Mulching
Mulch is always helpful, but it is especially helpful in the winter. A three-inch-deep layer of mulch helps keep the soil moist and helps stabilize the soil temperature. Don’t let the mulch touch the bark of the tree or it will cause rot issues. Leave a three-inch margin around the trunk of the tree and spread the mulch over the area under the tree’s drip line.
Watering
Trees and shrubs need water even in winter. Water them well before the first freeze and once every month or so during the winter. Proper winter watering helps trees resist winter damage.
Windbreaks
If you have trees and shrubs that are a little more fragile, consider installing a winter windbreak around them. A snow fence or burlap windbreak can reduce drying out and other winter wind-related injuries.
Anti-Desiccant Sprays
Evergreen trees continue to lose water through their needles even in the winter. They can be injured by losing too much moisture. When cold wind blows strongly, it can create a freeze-dry effect. One solution is to spray them with Wilt-Pruf, an anti-desiccant spray we use on our trees. You can read more about preventing evergreen winter burn in this article.
Wrapping
Young trees can get sunscald even in the winter. To protect their thin bark, wrap the trunk with tree wrap. The white wrap is available from nurseries and big box stores and it helps reflect the harsh light and protect the tree.
Snow Removal
Heavy loads of snow can break the branches of your trees and shrubs. After a storm, use a broom to gently shake the branches and knock the snow off of them. Be gentle, or you can break the branches. In light snows, a blower will work well for this too.
Pruning
In the fall before the first storms, prune any diseased or broken branches. This will help prevent them from falling on your house or yard. It will also help prevent the branches from causing further injury to the tree when they tear away. Not to mention your shrubs will look way better with all the dead wood gone.
Rodent Protection
In the winter, food is scarce. Rodents, including porcupines, will chew the bark for food. You can prevent this by wrapping the trunk and branches in hardware cloth. The rodent’s teeth can’t penetrate the hardware cloth to reach the bark. Rodents also hate steel wool. It hurts their teeth and prevents them from chewing.
Avoid Deicing Salts
Be careful when using deicing salts. Don’t use them where the runoff when the ice melts will carry them around your trees and shrubs. The salt will poison the trees. If you see a rim of salt on the soil, flush it away with lots of water to protect your trees and lawn. Salt dries out the plant’s root zone, and lots of water will help dilute the effects.
During the winter, the weather often prevents us from gardening outdoors. However, there are a number of ways to garden indoors that can keep us occupied. Here is a selection of indoor gardening projects to keep you gardening until it gets warm again.
Herb Garden
Having fresh herbs to cook with makes all your dishes taste better. You can place pots of herbs on a south-facing windowsill and have them all year. Herbs like rosemary, sage, oregano, thyme, basil, and parsley grow well indoors. Use gallon pots of potting mix and water regularly and you can have herbs any time you wish.
Indoor Vegetable Garden
You can grow many vegetables indoors in the winter. Cherry tomatoes are a popular choice and grow well on a windowsill. Greens like lettuce and spinach grow well, as do peas. For tomatoes and peas, use a small trellis inserted into the potting mix for the plants to climb on. Pick pots that are at least twelve inches deep so the roots will have plenty of room.
Succulent Collection
Succulents are a low-maintenance plant group that grows well indoors. Many of them will do well with artificial light and some will even grow in ambient room light. Succulents come in a variety of sizes and colors so a succulent garden can be as colorful as a rainbow. Use a potting mix specifically for succulents and let the soil dry out well between waterings so the roots do not rot.
Terrariums
Terrariums are closed plant communities under glass. A well-designed terrarium rarely needs watering or attention. Choose plants that will not grow too big for the space. Place potting mix and mulch in a glass container like an aquarium or lidded glass box. Put your plants in, water well, and cover. The water evaporates and keeps the humidity high. The water will condense and water the plants for a long time without any action on your part. Terrariums do require light, so use an artificial light as part of the lid or place them in the sunlight.
Orchid Care
If you like flowers, orchids come in an amazing array of shapes and sizes. While some require hot houses, many orchids will grow well inside a typical home. The American Orchid Society has a website with lots of care tips and other information. The Orchid Society of Greater Kansas City has regular meetings where you can learn about growing orchids.
African Violets
African violets are another flowering plant that does well indoors. They are much easier to grow than their reputation suggests and come in colors from almost white to very dark purple. The African Violet Society of America has good information on growing violets on their website.
Indoor Citrus Trees
Dwarf citrus trees are another indoor possibility. Many dwarf trees do very well indoors even without a conservatory. Most don’t produce fruit, but the fragrance the blooms produce can make your house smell wonderful.
Vertical Gardens
If you want to grow many of your own vegetables, you can use a vertical garden system to do so. These are hydroponic towers that you plant vegetables or other plants in. Many come complete with artificial lights and instructions on how to grow your favorite vegetables. Just add water and fertilizer and you can eat salads with fresh greens, tomatoes, and cucumbers all year.
The garden tower pictured above is a complete system that works well for indoor gardening. Water gives plant roots all the nutrients they require. Grow lights provide light so the plants can thrive. You can grow most plants in the garden tower, including vegetables.
Bonsai Trees
Bonsai trees are a challenging hobby for people who like to garden. They take patience and some specialized knowledge but can produce wonderful trees and country scenes. The trees can live hundreds of years if cared for properly. The American Bonsai Society has a very informative website and local clubs where you can learn more.
Schedule Spring Projects Now
Being cooped indoors isn’t as much fun as being able to use your outdoor living space, but a few indoor gardening projects can help you spend the time. While you are inside, remember that Royal Creations Architectural Landscaping is doing hardscapes all winter as well as designing outdoor projects for spring. If you have a project you want us to help you with, schedule a consultation before our schedule fills up.
Keeping your outdoor living area looking appealing during the winter can be difficult. Most of the plants are dormant and there may even be a layer of snow covering your landscape. However, there are ways that you can add interest to your winter garden. Here are some tips from our experience in the garden.
Evergreen Plants
Evergreen plants stay green and lush no matter what the temperature is. Juniper, holly, and other evergreen plants will stand out in the winter landscape. Boxwoods such as Green Velvet for hedges or Graham Blandy for tall, skinny spaces like entryways are very hardy and do well in our area. Evergreen trees like specialty spruces can be a great winter accent. The key is to give them plenty of water in late fall and on warm days during the winter. Applying wilt-pruf to broad-leaf evergreens in the fall is also very helpful to help these evergreens retain the moisture they need to avoid winter burn.
Berries and Fruits
Many plants have berries or fruit that stay on the plant all winter. Holly has pretty red berries that birds feed on all winter. American beauty berries, possum haw, and buckbrush are a few native plants with red berries that stay all winter.
Colorful Bark
Some plants have interesting bark. Crape myrtles have bark that sheds in strips. Ninebark also has exfoliating bark. Arctic Fire Red twig dogwoods also have a bright red stem that stands out against the snow. Having different colored bark with some hanging from the trunk adds visual interest and contrast to the garden.
Winter-Flowering Plants
While most flowers bloom in the warmer months, there are plants that flower in the winter. Winter bulbs such as crocus, snowdrops, daffodils, grape hyacinths, snowflakes, and tulips can add welcome color during the winter. Hellebores are also a fun winter flowering perennial that offers a nice surprise in the snow. Other winter flowering plants include common witch hazel, a native plant, and cold hardy pansies. While pansies are technically an annual, they will survive our winters and have a showy bloom all the way through spring.
Structural Elements
A stone wall can add interest to a landscape no matter what the season. Statues, paver paths, and other hardscape elements add interest even in the winter when the plants around them may be dormant. Water features can also create a focal feature and run through most of the winter and can be heated fairly easily as well.
Ornamental Grasses
Ornamental grasses are a great way to add interest to your landscape. They stay upright and maintain their bulk until they are trimmed in the spring. Maiden grass has silvery plumes that persist into winter. Switchgrass is another grass that looks nice in the fall and well into the winter.
Winter Containers
Colorful containers of winter hardy plants like ornamental kale, pansies, or evergreens can add bright spots in the garden. They also look nice in those pots by the entryway that no longer have summer flowers in them.
Pathways and Lighting
Paver or natural stone pathways, patios, and decks continue to provide interest even in winter. Using lighting to strategically accent hardscapes or specimen plants that look good all winter can also add interest to the landscape.
Garden Art and Decor
Incorporating sculptures or other garden art can spice up a winter landscape. Colorful murals on fences or a painted sculpture can add splashes of color to the area. They also add personality to your garden. Don’t forget to shine a light on them with shorter days to show them off in the dark as well.
Bird Feeders and Houses
Birds are fun to watch in the winter and they really appreciate bird feeders, bird houses, and suet balls. Colorful feeders and painted birdhouses add their own interest to the yard. You can take a pinecone and roll it in peanut butter, then sunflowers, and hang it on a branch or near a window to provide the birds with food if you don’t want something more permanent.
We at Royal Creations Architectural Landscaping want to thank you for a great year and a great decade. Even with the constant challenges that come with growth, our team has stuck together and made it another successful season. We made it through the summer heat and drought into the fall with a long list of completed projects. Now we are reflecting not just on our past year, but our past decade as a company.
A Ten-Year Celebration
We had a wonderful time at our ten-year celebration in September. Although the day was a little rainy, it turned out to be a wonderful event, and we enjoyed seeing everyone. We also raised enough money for Wildwood Outdoor Education Center to send 13 kids to a weeklong camp in the outdoors next summer.
Social Share
Remember that you can find and follow us on Facebook,Instagram, and LinkedIn. This is where we post our blog and other news during the month. We would really appreciate it if you would repost our shares to your network. The more people who see our work, the more people we can reach. After all, everyone deserves a wonderful outdoor living space.
Referrals
Referrals are the lifeblood of our business. If you know someone who is thinking of landscaping their property or improving their outdoor living space, please give them our name. We really appreciate our wonderful customers who send people our way and help spread the word about our services.
Looking Forward
We are looking forward to the next ten years of building outdoor living spaces for families like you. The Blue Crew install team is split into 3 divisions with several team members on each crew. We are always interested in talking to people about a career in landscaping, so if you know anyone interested in a career in horticulture or construction, let us know and we will see if we are a good fit.
Be A Part Of Our Story
Royal Creations Architectural Landscaping would love for you to continue to be a part of our story. Please schedule a consult so we can help you design new elements of your outdoor living space. Happy New Year and have a wonderful 2024.
