Winter burn on trees and shrubs

[Sandman83]

Hi all, my first post other than my intro in that forum

I've recently moved to an acreage in central Alberta (zone 3) and of course we have terrible winters here, but this winter has easily been the coldest and longest I've experienced in my 20 years living here. I planted a few hundred trees and shrubs last summer to get a good jump on the landscaping while my house was being worked on before moving in. Everything looked healthy through the fall and winter, but in the last month or so many of my evergreen trees and shrubs are turning brown. Not a surprise given the ground is still frozen beneath a foot of snow, the sun is high and warm, and temperatures are still dropping to the minus double digits at night, even though we're in April now. Even some of my dogwoods, ninebarks, and sand cherry shrubs are showing some branch die-back, when I check by nicking the bark and looking for green. I know there's nothing I can do about the damage that's done, and I have to wait to see what will recover and what will need to be replaced. What I'd like to find out is if there's anything I can do to prevent this from happening again next winter. When I lived in the city, it was feasible for me to build wind screens around my evergreen trees and make small huts to cover the shrubs, so I had no problems there. However, I now have 4 acres I'm landscaping and hundreds of trees (with many more to come) to look after. Is there anything I can do besides a physical barrier to the wind and sun? I have black sandy loam soil, I know watering is important due to the fast drainage. I have 4 inches of wood mulch around the bases of everything, without touching the trunk. I've also decided that I won't plant any later than July, I see that the plants that went in later in the summer and early fall were the hardest hit, probably not enough time to grow good roots. Other than these things, I don't know what else I can do. Any pointers would be appreciated

[MoonShadows]

Hi Sandman83, and welcome to the forum. Unfortunately, other than wrapping or planting behind wind screens I don't think there is too much you can do except make sure anything you plant is appropriate for your climate and select a proper site on your property to plant it. Even though plants respond differently to winter stress and each winter provides a different set of stressful conditions, plants possess a remarkable ability to withstand extremely severe winter conditions. Hopefully, when this harsh winter finally dies and warmer weather gets here your pant damage will not be too severe and your plants with make a come back.

[applestar]

I don’t have actual experience with living on large acreage (envy!) but I think you need to think in terms of natural protection.

- plant hardy native trees and shrubs as windbreaks on prevailing wind direction
- plant nurse trees/shrubs — N-fixing support trees and shrubs next to the desired plant — which will be cut down later
- definitely research what to plant — city Micro-climate is definitely warmer and more protected than out in the open. You may need to assume as much as 1 zone colder.

You may not be able to /or/ only be able to plant same plants (as what you had in the city) in the most protect areas near the house or other structures. Out in the open, plant things that are hardier and look for native plants that will tolerate the conditions better without coddling.

I think your conclusions about not planting later in the season is accurate — the roots need to establish down deep, and also, there is usually a flush of growth after they settle in that will be too tender and not hardened to the elements sufficiently to withstand the winter. Those are probably all experiencing winter die-off. But you may find that this year’s new growths will be strong enough next winter.

Look into good pruning styles to get the structures of the damaged trees and shrubsback to what you want.

Only other thing I can think of is that to overwinter, it’s a good idea to water well before the freeze if there isn’t enough rain.