9 Smart Ways to Help New Trees and Shrubs Weather the Winter

Newly planted trees and shrubs are particularly vulnerable to winter damage. They can suffer from frozen roots, sunscald, broken branches, and other problems during their first winter or two. However, if you take a few precautions when planting and adequately prepare for winter, your plants will be much more likely to survive the winter with minimal damage.

Whether you’re growing fruit trees, flowering shrubs, or classic evergreens like arborvitae, here are 9 tips for winterizing new plantings just in time for cold weather.

1. Plant at the Right Time

Most trees and shrubs acclimate best when planted in either spring or fall. In that respect, ornamental trees and shrubs are no different from edibles. If you plant in the fall, planting too close to your first anticipated fall frost may not give the roots of new plants enough time to settle before the onset of cold weather.

A rule of thumb is to plant potted trees and shrubs no later than 6 to 8 weeks before the first frost is expected in your area. The planting time of already dormant bare-root plants is more flexible, though they are commonly sold for spring planting. In southern climates where the ground does not freeze, bare-root trees and shrubs can be planted at any time during their winter dormancy.

2. Choose a Sheltered Spot

Even if you select plants suitable for your zone, some are hardier than others. For plants that are only marginally hardy in your area or that are known to be sensitive to cold damage and biting winds, it is wise to grow them in a sheltered spot that satisfies their light requirements. The shelter provided by walls, fencing, and other trees and shrubs serves as a windbreak and keeps new plantings more protected. Steer clear of growing sensitive plants near busy roadways that are regularly treated with salt in the winter.

3. Water Deeply

New trees and shrubs are more likely to suffer from winter injury if their soil is dry. In addition to promoting root establishment, water has insulating properties and helps to keep plant roots a little warmer than they'd be in parched earth. Newly planted trees and shrubs need ample water, so the top 8 to 10 inches of soil should always feel moist. Because this is usually not achieved by rainfall, you'll need to water them regularly and deeply until the ground freezes solid.

4. Apply Mulch

Mulch is a key way to keep weeds from intruding under trees and shrubs, but it also insulates plant roots and reduces frost heaving, which pushes roots up towards the soil surface and makes them more exposed to cold. Natural mulches such as wood and bark mulches, chopped autumn leaves, and pine straw work well for most trees and shrubs.

For best results, apply mulch in 2- to 4-inch layers and keep the mulch several inches away from the trunks and stems of your plants to reduce the risk of rot and pests.

5. Install Tree Guards and Fencing

Voles, mice, rats, deer, and rabbits are more likely to feed on tree bark and tender shrubs in winter when other food sources are scarce. Wildlife and pests feeding potentially girdle and even kill new plantings. Installing tree guards made of ¼-inch hardware cloth or another sturdy material around the base of new trees and shrubs avoids a lot of damage.

However, if deer browse in your yard, you may want to double up security by installing 8-foot fencing, poultry netting, or fishing line secured to stakes around new plantings or the exterior of your property.

6. Use Tree Wraps

Temperatures may fluctuate wildly between the warm days and chilly nights of winter, which may cause tree bark to expand and contract and potentially lead to bark splitting and other problems. This is particularly problematic for trees with thin and dark-colored bark, such as maples, plums, crabapples, cherries, linden, poplars, and aspens, but it can affect other trees too. Some evergreens, like arborvitae, yew, hemlock, and boxwood, are also more susceptible to drying winds and sunscald, which turns their needles brown and dry during the winter.

To protect newly planted trees, install tree wraps around the trunks. Tree wraps are commonly made of polypropylene fabric, paper, corrugated cardboard, or burlap, and they are light in color to reflect the sunlight away from the bark and prevent significant temperature increases. Leave the wraps in place until the risk of spring frost has passed. Most trees will only need wrapping for the first 2 or so years of their growth, and they won’t need this treatment once their bark thickens up.

• For trees with dark, thin bark, install tree wraps around the trunk from the base of the soil line up to the tree’s lowest branches. Remember to remove the wraps in spring so they don’t cause girdling or moisture issues.
• For evergreens, like arborvitae, wrap your plantings in burlap secured with twine or install 3 to 4 wooden stakes around your plants and fasten burlap around the exterior of the stakes with staples. This protection also works to protect plants that are marginally hardy in your area, such as hydrangeas blooming on old wood that may not bloom if their flower buds are damaged by cold. This treatment is most useful in cold areas and may not be needed in milder climates.

7. Use Pest Repellents

Tree guards and fencing are the most reliable ways to deter deer and other unwanted garden visitors. To make new plantings a little more pest-proof, experiment with repellent sprays, like putrid egg solids, hot pepper spray, and humanely sourced predator spray. These products need to be reapplied regularly, and especially after heavy rain and snowfall, and they often work better if you alternate products from time to time so animals don’t get accustomed to a single scent.

8. Skip Pruning and Fertilizing

Though fall is a great time to clean up your garden and prep it for spring, don’t be tempted to prune or fertilize trees and shrubs too late in the season. It is good practice to remove dead, damaged, or diseased branches whenever you spot them, but pruning and fertilizing new plantings too close to your fall frost date may cause your plants to leaf out, which makes them more vulnerable to cold.

9. Leave the Snow

Once the snow starts falling, you may need to shake heavy snow off young trees and shrubs if they look like they’re too weighed down. Otherwise, leave the rest of the snow right where it falls in your yard. Snow has insulating properties, and allowing it to gather around the base of new plantings helps insulate tree and shrub roots and makes plants more resilient in cold weather. Not to mention, snow will also add plenty of moisture to the soil and water your plants when it melts in spring.