Winterization

2.  Adding fertilizer late in the season promotes new growth that can be damaged by winter weather, so don’t apply fertilizer later in the fall.
3.  Avoid pruning trees or evergreen shrubs in the fall because pruning at this time encourages new growth as well. However, if you have trees or large shrubs with weak or dead limbs that may break and fall on the roof or eaves of a house or other structure in winter weather, cut these away in the fall.
4.  Probably the most important chore to prepare your garden for winter is mulching.
•  While not every plant needs to be protected from low winter temperatures, tender perennials or newly planted shrubs and trees can use the added layer of protection.
•  Winter mulch serves as a blanket for the plants’ root systems, helping insulate soil from temperature fluctuations. The freezing and thawing of soil can push shallow-rooted plants’ roots out of the ground and closer to the surface where cold weather can affect them more.
•  Winter mulch can also prevent cold damage to above-ground plant parts.
5.  Once the first hard freeze has occurred, apply 2 to 4 inches of straw, pine needles, hay, compost, leaves, bark chips or other organic mulch evenly around the plants.
* But keep the material a couple of inches away from the plant so it won’t promote rot or allow small rodents that may seek cover in the mulch to gnaw on the trunk.

For some trees and shrubs, bark damage can also occur in the winter as temperatures fluctuate.
Tree bark expands in warmer weather then contracts as temperatures drop, sometimes causing bark to split.
If you typically experience extremely cold weather with spells of warmer weather during the winter, protect young or thin-barked trees and shrubs by wrapping their trunks with a commercial trunk wrap. *This provides insulation and also helps shade the trunks from winter sunlight on warmer days.