Heavy Snow Friend or Foe

Snow and ice generally do not harm plants.  Snow on the ground acts as a blanket of insulation to keep ground temperature from fluctuating.  Snow on a plant’s leaves or bark does not hurt either provided it is not more of a load than the plant’s structure can handle. 

Generally speaking the snow can stay in place until the sun melts it or the wind blows it away.  Snow is winter moisture for your plants and is actually a very good thing.  However very heavy snows and wet snows can damage plants by breaking them.  If your plant, shrub, or tree is bowed over or heavily laden down with snow, the snow should be removed. Again, plants do need moisture in the winter, so you do not need to remove every little bit of snow. You just need to remove most of the snow so that the weight does not bend or break the branches.

If the branches are severely bent from the weight of the snow and they remain that way for a long period of time, weeks or months, they can develop a memory for that position. A good example would be a hose that is wound up the same way all the time retains a memory. Multi trunked plant material such as arborvitae or birch trees would be good examples of the types of plants that can exhibit this problem.

You can use your hand or any long handled broom.  As long as the device you use is not sharp you should be OK.  Please be gentle, plants are more brittle in the cold than they are in the summer.  Think of plastic in the winter as opposed to plastic in the summer months. Ice is a little different, never try to break ice off a plant.  Breaking ice off a plant will most likely produce damage.  The sun will do its job at some point, be patient.  Ice on a plant can cause burning to the tissue but usually not.  It usually acts as protection against the wind, kind of like lip balm would protect your lips.

Of course, if you need help with your shrub care we are always here to be of service. For more information about our Tree Care and Shrub Care and Landscape Maintenance services, please see our pages or give us a call at 201-445-4646 to set up a free consultation.