Growing Together: Rescuing trees and shrubs

February 2020 6 Rescuing trees and shrubs before it's too late

Growing Together

BY DON KINZLER Columnist

Winter is a peaceful time around the yard and garden, as we take a break from weeding, watering and mowing. Unfortunately, rabbits and other livestock seem to think it’s harvest time, making winter snacks of our trees and shrubs.

You’ve got to give rabbits and deer credit. What other creatures could get away with so much plant destruction while being considered cute and picturesque? If they slithered and hissed while consuming our vegetation, there might be increased incentive to reduce the population.

Even though it’s downtime for yard tasks, it pays to be vigilant. Several deadly tree and shrub issues can be avoided if caught early. ► Rabbit damage: If snow is shallow, rabbits can damage trees and shrubs at their bases. If snow is deep, rabbits have easy access to upper branches, which caused extensive damage during last year’s snowy winter.

Certain trees and shrubs are especially flavorful to rabbits. Carefully monitor fruit trees (including apple, pear and plum), flowering crabapple, mountain ash, Canada red cherry, dogwood, rose, alpine currant, burning bush euonymus, sumac and evergreens, including arborvitae and juniper.

Besides gobbling twigs in their entirety, rabbits sometimes just gnaw the bark from trunks and branches, exposing the white wood beneath. If bark is completely stripped in a continuous circle around the trunk or twig, termed “girdled,” the portion beyond the injury is usually killed. Not much can be done to repair such damage after the fact.

Although trees can easily be killed by rabbit injury, damage to deciduous (leafy) shrubs is seldom deadly, since most can be rejuvenated by cutting them back to a few inches above ground level in spring before growth begins. Evergreen shrubs aren’t capable of this rejuvenation and can be ruined if inner twigs or trunks are girdled. Consumption of arborvitae and other evergreen foliage often leaves bottoms permanently empty, as bare evergreen branches aren’t normally able to regenerate foliage.

If rabbit and deer damage hasn’t yet occurred, or is just beginning, protect susceptible shrubs with chicken wire or wire mesh hardware cloth. Tree trunks can be wrapped or protected with commercially available tree guards or black drain tile material. Repellents, dried blood, soap, mothballs, fox urine and hair are a gamble, working in some cases but not others. Liquid Fence and Plantskydd are among the most consistently reliable repellents, although not foolproof. ► Vole damage: Tailless field mice do their damage below snow, near ground level on lawns and woody plants. Shallow tunnels on lawn surfaces and girdling of trees and shrubs are revealed after spring melt. UNITS: 6’x10’, 10’x15’, 12’x20’ Loading & Unloading Service. Proudly serving Park Rapids & Detroit Lakes area for over 42 years. Park Rapids 218-732-4815 | Detroit Lakes 218-847-3090 IRCC# 37962 D L I MOVING & MINI STORAGE

Little can be done now to prevent vole damage on a snow-covered lawn, but check the base of young trees and apply wire mesh hardware cloth snuggly, especially if voles have been active in past years. Remember to remove tight wrappings each spring. ► Sunscald injury: Young and thin-barked trees can suffer winter sunburn, called sunscald, similar to the winter sunburn of skiers. Sunscald is most common on the south and southwest trunk sides where angled winter sun is most intense, and happens most frequently in January and February.

To prevent, wrap trunks or apply tree guards up to the lower branches. Symptoms of sunscald often aren’t immediately visible, but eventually show as cracked, peeled, raised and discolored bark, which is a gateway for rot and disease. ► Winter injury to evergreens: Browning of evergreen foliage is caused when winter winds desiccate needles. Sun reflecting from snow causes drying from freeze and thaw cycles. Prevent by shading foliage with burlap or similar screening material. ► Snow breakage of evergreens: Heavy winter snow can bend and break evergreen branches. Gently brush away as it accumulates. ► Exposed perennials: Most hardy perennials sleep through winter peacefully if tucked under a heavy blanket of snow. If the insulating snow disappears during midwinter thaws, especially on south-facing exposures, perennials can be left bare and vulnerable to deadly freeze and thaw cycles.

BShovel extra snow over perennials, making a longer-lasting depth. If extra snow isn’t available by late winter, straw or bagged shredded bark mulch can be added over bare perennials. Many perennials are damaged just before spring if snow disappears too early. Don Kinzler, a lifelong gardener, is the horticulturist with North Dakota State University Extension for Cass County. Readers can reach him at kinzlerd@casscountynd.gov or call 701-241-5707. Rabbits love arborvitae foliage and it doesn’t regrow if eaten to bare branches. Wire mesh is the best protectant. Photos by Michael Vosburg / Forum News Service

Tree wraps help reduce animal damage and sunscald on thinbarked trees.

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