Transplants may need to be nurtured through frigid winter conditions their first one to 3 years. New transplants haven’t had a good chance to grow their roots into the soil. Established plants have adapted to winter conditions and go dormant, less protection is needed.
- It is important to water through the fall, right up until ground freeze.
- To nurture further add 3-4 inches of mulch around the base of your new additions after the ground is frozen be sure to leave breathing room around the base of the trunk. This will help with insulating the soil to stay frozen to preventing heaving.
- Use tree guards aid against nibbling from animals to young transplants.
- Wrapping the trunk of your trees in paper tree wrap can help with sun scalding. Further this may aid against frost cracks, this can happen when dark bark heats up on sunny winter days and promptly freezes in the evening.
Plant specific winter assistance:
- Use pine boughs or tree greens from pine trees for protection of the Evergreens.
- Surround your shrubs with stakes allowing approximately 2-3 inches of space between your shrub and the stake then lay and wrap burlap around the stakes. To add extra protection secure with burlap with stakes. If you allow the burlap or stakes to touch the new transplant it could lead to damage of the plant. Take down the burlap as soon as the weather warms, leave the stakes in case you need to quickly wrap the scrubs to aid with another brush of cold weather. Removing the stakes into the Spring months is your best bet.