Coast Gardener
Getting the Landscape
Ready for Winter
Coast Gardener Newspaper and Web Column - October 13, 2008
We are in the middle of October and changes are in the air. Nightly temperatures and day lengths are decreasing and these are important and powerful environmental cues for landscape plants. Trees, shrubs and flowering perennials are storing vast amounts of carbohydrates (sugars) in their root systems to fuel growth next spring. A good example of this nutrient storage strategy is when we see the leaves change color. The plants and trees are harvesting valuable nutrients from the leaves for use next year and will discard only the parts of leaves that cannot be used again. Who says people are the only ones that can recycle.
Maintaining good plant nutrition is important in winter survivability. Now is a good time to have your soil tested. Doing so ensures the proper fertilizers are applied if needed. Soil test kits are available at your county Extension office. More information on soil testing can be found at http://msucares.com/crops/soils/testing.html.
Once you have your soil test results back you will have the proper recommendations of which formulation to use, if any. In the past we have recommended not to use high nitrogen fertilizers going into winter as this may encourage new growth and have cold weather damage the plant. However, the current research suggests that using fall fertilizers having higher potassium are actually more beneficial than worrying about the nitrogen levels. This makes sense when we consider the plants response to the environment. Applying high level of nitrogen will not overcome the environmental dormancy stimuli of decreasing temperature and day length.
Maintaining good soil moisture is also essential during the winter months. Trees and shrubs can actually desiccate during the winter if the soil is allowed to dry out. When this happens, the damage usually does not appear until late the next year, or beyond. So, when we go through a period of droughty weather make sure you irrigate your landscape.
Written by Dr. Gary R. Bachman, Assistant Extension Professor of Horticulture, Coastal Research & Extension Center.