by Leslie Cox; Tuesday; February 14, 2017

The winter of 2016 / 2017 in the Comox Valley could well be one for our local record books. I have measured an accumulative total of 44.9 inches (114 cm) of snow from December 8 through to February 10. This is certainly a record for us, since I started keeping weather records in 1999.

Fast forward again to this year…this much snow has had a drastic effect on our plants. In our garden, the worst damage we can see has been to the Hibiscus syriacus ‘Collie Mullens’, (lower right front in photo). The weight of the snow almost completely flattened all of this shrub’s branches. They were virtually lying horizontally on the ground. Well…on top of the snow, at any rate.

The result was a severe splitting of the trunk…almost in half. Yikes! There were also a couple of secondary branches which were torn and hanging down from their main branch by a thin strip of vascular fibre.

Immediate remedial action was to “unbury” the main branches, throw a rope around all of them, and haul the whole mass relatively upright. No mean feat considering the height and breadth of our 30 year old shrub / tree. We then secured the rope to the greenhouse in the hope the branches could better withstand future snowfalls without any further damage.

Periodic walkabouts to knock snow off the shrubs and trees revealed other damage…such as a split on the Cornus alba ‘Elegantissima’ (variegated dogwood)…but none was as bad as the hibiscus.

So…what can we do for our snow damaged plants?

First, and foremost…knock the snow off of your shrubs and small trees. And keep doing this after each snowfall. Here in the Pacific Northwest, we get moisture-laden snow…not the nice fluffy stuff which falls on the prairies and Ontario. Or so my ex-Ontarionian husband is always telling me. Born and raised in Victoria, and living my entire life on Vancouver Island, I know no other type of snow.

For large trees…those in the neighbourhood of 30 – 50 ft (9 – 15 m) tall…you will just have to leave them be. There is no safe way to knock the snow off of those giants. But pray your large trees are healthy. It is the sickly and rotten trees which will suffer the most damage. In the meantime, you may want to move your vehicle out from under any and all trees. Just in case.

FYI…there is a right way and a wrong way to knock snow off of your shrubs and trees. Check out How To: Knock Snow Off Shrubs & Trees.

Second…for the most part…just leave your damaged shrubs and trees alone until after the snow melts. We only roped our hibiscus because it was such a bad split on the trunk…but truthfully, we could have left it alone, perhaps, until the snow was gone. I think it was a make-work project for John because he was developing a serious case of cabin fever. But more to the point, we roped it because the weather forecast was calling for a spell of freezing rain and John wanted to minimize any further damage to the shrub. Although…we may have to yank the hibiscus out anyways. The jury is still out on whether it can be repaired or not.

Now for the first aid…

Shrubs…depending on the severity of the damage, most shrubs can be pruned quite hard, if need be. Evergreen varieties (rhodos, camellias, boxwood, holly, etc) and deciduous (spiraea, beauty bush, butterfly bush, berberis spp., etc) can all be pruned almost to ground level and they will recover…usually within a couple of seasons.

If the damage is not too severe, you can just prune out the damaged branch, or branches…or a portion of a branch, if that is the case. But remember, if the shrub is a spring-flowering variety…and you have to prune it back…you will not get any spring blooms. However, depending on how much damage the plant has, it may recover enough to give a few blooms late in the season. (Many of the spring flowering shrubs produce a moderate re-bloom later in the season…especially if you have pruned it after its first flush of blooms is finished.)

As for the conifer shrubs such as small junipers, cedars, etc…any of these types which have been severely damaged cannot be pruned. Nor will they recover. Cut your losses and dig them out…then console yourself with a trip to the nursery for a replacement plant.

But, if it is just a single branch, or two, which has been broken…and if pruning it / them out will not mar the overall aesthetics of the conifer shrub, then go ahead and remove the branch(es). And spend your money on another plant which happens to catch your eye at the nursery. Retail therapy is a must after such a long, snowy winter.

Trees…if it is a young tree, less than 10 – 12 in (25 – 30 cm) in diameter, which has been uprooted, it can usually be rescued. As long as the snow is coming down…just leave the tree as it is but cover the exposed roots as soon as possible to avoid freezing or drying damage. Once the snow is gone, gently maneuver the tree upright and replant it back into its hole. Be sure to place a good helping of healthy compost and some organic complete fertilizer into the planting hole to help the tree with its recovery.

Unfortunately…uprooted trees which are bigger than 12 in (30 cm) in diameter cannot be saved. You will have to cut your losses and take it out. A consolation price would be a shopping trip to the nursery. However, this is sometimes bittersweet when you have invested twenty-five or thirty years into growing your tree to such a magnificent stature.

Know where to prune…when it comes to pruning branches, you must know where to cut. Making a cut in the wrong place can possibly lead to decay…which can then lead to more damage in future winter storms…or possibly cause the death of your tree. Heaven forbid!

Be careful not to over prune, though. Taking out more branches than you really need to will impact on the plant’s ability to produce food through photosynthesis and slow its recovery. And bear in mind, if the tree bears fruits or nuts, harsh pruning will greatly affect the crop yield.

Sometimes pruning out what needs to be taken out will leave your tree looking rather lop-sided. Don’t panic. While it perhaps look a little silly, or weird, for a season or two, it should eventually fill in nicely.

Patience is always a virtue. I once saw an English laurel (Prunus laurocerasus) hedge which had been pruned back really hard. It was a row of bare stems roughly 3 ft (90 cm) tall…for two years. Come the following spring, bright medium-green leaves emerged up and down the stems. Fast forward another couple of years and you would not recognize that laurel hedge to be the same one of nothing but a row of bare stems.

Never top a tree! This will weaken the tree, or at the very least severely damage it. In this case, it is best to remove the tree and make a trip to the nursery to shop for a replacement.

But…if the snow has snapped the leader of your tree…well, this is another story. Assess the structure of your tree to see if there is another branch which could be trained into a new leader…as is sometimes the case. If so, the tree can likely be saved. However, if there is no replacement leader, it may be best to cut your losses and plan a trip to the nursery.

You can always help your damaged trees along by applying a serving of organic complete fertilizer in March or April.

And be sure to water all rescued winter-damaged shrubs and trees regularly during any hot dry spells through the next summer or two. Starving them of water will more than likely finish off what the snow damage started.

 

Note: We can highly recommend Christopher Brickell & David Joyce’s book, Pruning & Training (Dorling Kindersley 1996). They cover every pruning technique on every prune-able plant variety, as well as words of wisdom on how to prune established trees and renovation techniques. Excellent illustrations give further clarity.