Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Winter shrub care and salt tolerant options
Consider ways to give our shrubs a little extra TLC during winter. Using snow as a type of mulch isn’t a bad idea for your shrubs but you have to be careful how you PLACE that snow over your plants.
Sending the kids out to pile it on might not be the best idea unless they know not to heave it onto delicate branches that could break. Especially the wet, heavy stuff. It’s best to gently move the snow up under the shrubs and around them.
If you have shrubs along a walkway that you de-ice, rather than using salt products that some plants find intolerable, use sand or products like magnesium chloride and calcium acetate.
You can further protect your shrubs by covering them with burlap, IF they’re evergreens, don’t let the burlap touch the needles, that can have a drying effect. A physical barrier can keep the salt off the plants and reduce damage. Here’s more from Gertens.
In the spring, water the heck out of areas in the line of roadway and sidewalk salt, this will leach the salt through the soil. Heavy spring rains are a bonus in removing the salt content.
If you don’t like the snow idea, once the ground has frozen, you could pile up bagged leaves, pine boughs, or even straw, although not real pretty. Or change your plantings!
Try planting rugosa roses. I love these tough guys and they can take salt like a margarita! There are many varieties.
Alpine Currant and Staghorn Sumac are good choices and the salt tolerant Snowberry provides winter interest with berries clinging to leafless branches.
