December Punch List Extra - Your Trees Want Water

Check out today's Denver Post Home section for a garden Punch List extra about winter watering.  Or click on the link to read. Colorado-garden-do-list-extra-edition-your-trees

It looks like winter is returning tomorrow, but keep your hoses handy in case we have another long stretch with no snow cover or measurable moisture.

Where's Winter...Might as well Plant!

Wow, it just doesn't seem like December when day after day it's in the 50s and there's no chance of snow. That's how it feels in the Denver Metro area these past few weeks.  So what's a gardener to do outside when the weather could change any minute?  Plant more spring and summer flowering bulbs is the short answer. Really. If your ground isn't frozen or wet and you have found planting bulbs that are in good shape AND discounted, there's no reason not to plant. But get out there now!

No winter at Washington Park

This morning I found a great deal on bulbs in one of my favorite garden centers. I could have purchased and planted twice as many, but I kept my pocket book in check. I know I'm over my landscape budget for the year and even the old "but honey, they were on sale" rationale can only go so far. 


I'll plant the crocus along a walk way in front of the house that is pretty boring until the 'Jack Frost' brunnera wakes up in mid-spring. The herb bed in the backyard could use more interest and early spring color so the yellow daffodils are going there. The only downside of planting this late is that I now have a brief period of getting my hands in the dirt and feeling useful in the garden.  Maybe this will make time go quicker until we can enjoy these flowering bulb beauties? Probably not, just wait...because we've had such a dry fall, we'll have snow on the ground until May!  

So what else can you plant this late outside?  Check the garden shelves for any deals on ornamental bulbs and don't forget the garlic planting bulbs either. They may need a few more weeks to mature next summer, but that's no big deal, you'll have fresh garlic and it will be so worth the effort if you get them in the ground now. Spring-planted garlic is okay, but they never grow as large as fall planted garlic. Read more about planting garlic on my blog from October 14th. Growing Garlic is Grand

If you're into bare root perennials or roses, now is a good time to dig and amend the planting hole in preparation for their arrival in late winter (mail order is the way to go for the best selection). Just be sure to cover the hole with a board or something so you don't trip or fall. Or loosely fill the hole so it will be easy to dig and plant later. Keep in mind that if the ground is snow covered or too wet you can't plant during the short bare root window (late March to mid-April or so). If you miss the window you can easily pot up your plants or roses and keep them in a frost-free shed or garage until after the final spring frost. They'll root in the pot so you can plant them just like regular potted plants.

I'm not going to speculate on the cause for this late season planting opportunity, I'm just going to seize the carp and plant some bulbs!  

Read more about fall planted ornamental bulbs on my blog from September 28th. Bulbs for Spring Bling

 

Winter Water – Why and How

Few do it on a regular basis.  More people need to do it on warm days.  Nope, I'm not talking about taking a
walk on a nice winter day.  I'm referring to getting out your garden hoses or deep root soil needle and giving your trees and landscape a winter drink of water. 

In the Denver area we're four inches of rainfall ahead of last year (as of late November 2014). It may seem like a skiff or inch or two of snow here and there is enough natural moisture.  Is it?  Please don't assume or guess that your landscape isn't dry without physically checking. Grab your longest screw driver and poke it down in to the ground through the mulch, the grass and especially on sunny south, west or southwest facing areas.  Check anywhere the soil isn't frozen. If it doesn't go down easily, then you're dry, if you need to use most of your weight to get it down, then the area is parched.


Winter watering is one of the best things you can do for your landscape. On-going or prolonged dry plant roots in the winter can lead to root damage, death or reduced plant vigor. 

During the middle part of the day when temperatures are over forty degrees and there isn't snow cover, set up your sprinkler and move it around the drip line (outer branch tips) of trees or close to the trunk if the tree is new or young.

I make it super easy on myself and set the timer and move the sprinkler every 15 or 20 minutes or so. I may circle back and repeat the same spots (soak and cycle) if the area is severely dry.  Soak and cycle helps the water soak down avoiding water waste and run-off. 
 
If you want to use the deep root soil needle then plan on an hour or more of hands-on time for large trees and areas.  Insert the soil needle down no more than a foot (that's where most of the roots are located) and let it run five or so minutes in each spot, you'll know when the spot is saturated. Move it every five feet around the tree.  

You can also use a soaker-hose, some call them weeper hoses and extend it around the tree drip line (or closer for new trees). Make sure the water pressure is low so it soaks downward and not up and into the air. Leave it in place until the screw driver goes down easily (check after each rotation), you may also need to soak and cycle using this type of hose if the area is super dry.  Keep in mind that soaker-hoses aren't as easy to place around the tree when the hose is cold, you may need to use some stakes to keep it in place. 

Check your landscape soil every four to six weeks until your sprinkler system is turned on in the spring. Drag out the hoses if needed and water when conditions are right, you'll still have time to do a winter walk!

Read more - Fall and Winter Watering

Colorado Freeze and Landscape Damage: What you can do now

Susan Clotfelter, The Denver Post

11-22-2014
Gardeners and homeowners wondering what the deep freeze of November 2014 will do to their landscapes have had horticultural websites buzzing. "I think only time will tell on the extent of damage we'll see," said Colorado State University Extension horticulture agent Alison O'Connor, who's based in Fort Collins. Like many, she had roses still blooming as the first flakes fell and the mercury tumbled. The closest weather-event comparison experts could make was to the Halloween freeze of 1991, which the following year, "proved to be fatal to many shrubs and trees, particularly Siberian elms," O'Connor wrote on CSU Hort Blog The shock of 14-below temperatures a few days after balmy 70-degree afternoons can be tough not just on humans, but on valuable, expensive-to-replace trees and shrubs, especially if they were newly planted or went into the prolonged cold days without adequate water. Dave Paricio, a certified arborist with the Davey Tree Experts' east Denver office, was also cutting the last of his own roses as temperatures began to plummet. "We will see some injury (to trees and shrubs), but nothing's going to be readily apparent until early to mid-spring," he said. But last spring and summer's abundant moisture will help. Also on the side of the plants: Soil isn't as cold as air. And soil with moisture in it holds heat better than drier soil. "We will see some root damage" on newly planted trees, Paricio predicted. Air pockets around those not-yet-established root systems can make those roots dry up and contract. If plants went into the freeze well watered and mulched, you can rest assured that you did all you could. What can you do now? • For Roses, prune off any blooms if the weight of snow on them is bending canes. Once the plant has dropped its leaves, increase the mulch around the base of the plants to six to eight inches. (Come spring, you'll pull that mulch away so the soil can begin warming up.) • Mulch other shrubs and trees, remembering to leave a few inches between trunks and mulch (roses are the exception). • Don't sweep remaining ice-melt into garden beds. Sweep it into a dustpan and dispose of it. Such salts aren't good for plants and over time can build up in soil, according to the Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado, a trade group. • Remember to keep shrubs and trees watered through the winter. If you're not sure whether snowmelt has done this winter watering chore for you, see if an old screwdriver penetrates the soil to six to eight inches. If you have to force it, soil is dry. Check every couple of weeks, paying special attention to new plants or plants in conditions exposed to lots of sun or lots of wind. Water the established plants at least monthly, around noon on days when the highs reach above 40 degrees. "If (you) can do it with deeper watering probe, great, but any water is better than no water," Paricio said. • If you haven't already, wrap the trunks of young trees to protect them from sunscald. You can buy tree wrap at most hardware or garden stores; wrap from the trunk up. (And don't forget to remove it — Paricio said he times this chore for April 15, right along with Tax Day). • Schedule a professional pruning for mature trees, especially those that haven't had one in a few years. Certified arborists can tell dead limbs from live ones even in winter, Paricio said. • You can always hope that 2015 offers growing conditions as kind as those on offer in 2014 — not too hot, not too cold, decent rain.  Right?  "This is Colorado," Paricio laughed. "We can't count on anything." Susan Clotfelter: 303-954-1078, sclotfelter@denverpost.com or twitter.com/susandigsin Click here for the Denver Post on-line version The Denver Post Grow

Don't Forget to Wrap

The Denver area has well over two hundred sunny to partly sunny days all year with few complaints by anyone living here. But our low angle sunny, winters along with warm days and cold nights can be tough on young trees, especially the thin-barked ones including oak, maple, linden, honey locust and fruit trees. Here’s what happens…during warmer winter days the tree cells warm up on the south and southwest side of the tree.  At night when temperatures cool or drop below freezing the cells are killed and tree tissue can be damaged.  This repeated cycle is what can cause damage or sunscald to a young tree. Sunscald can first appear as discolored, sunken bark, later the bark may crack or split or simply fall off in pieces.  This can do harm to a trees future health and its ability to ward off disease and insects. 

By wrapping trees in November you will be  protecting them from sunlight and preventing sunscald.

Use a wrap or paper specifically designed for trees, it’s available at your local garden center or nursery.  Start wrapping at the base of the tree, overlapping 33% with each turn, that way there aren’t gaps which can cause it to sag and fall away during the winter.  Wrap up to the lowest branches of the tree.  Secure the top with flexible ties or tape, just don’t attach the tape to the actual tree bark.  

Remove the wrap next April, keeping it on longer than that may harbor insects, disease or possibly girdle the tree. 

Sunscald is usually not a problems for trees planted on the east or north side of buildings or close to north facing fences. No need to wrap evergreen trees. Remind yourself to wrap your trees right after Halloween before Thanksgiving, then remove it in April or around Easter. 

And that’s a wrap; check out my tree wrap video if you wish, I’m new to being on camera so I hope to improve as I go!!