The snow was nice in December—now it seems we are having January Thaw early!  It makes you wonder what the rest of January and February will be like.  I really don’t know why the winter months in Ohio seem long and the summer months short.  Must be mental attitude. 

If you feel like a green fix, you might consider visiting the Franklin Park Conservatory.  I was there in December for the poinsettia display.  The orchards were in bloom and the chocolate tree exhibit was on display.  Of course, my granddaughters favorite part of the conservatory is the train that runs outside in the cold.  The gentleman who cared for the display said he had to chip the ice off the track before the train could run.  Bless him! 

Along with the trip to the conservatory, you might plan a visit to the Topiary Garden in Columbus.  The garden is located behind the main library, on the corner of  E. Town St. and Washington Ave.   While I was visiting the Franklin Park Conservatory, I noticed a calendar of the topiary garden and the winter scenes were wonderful..  Make sure there is snow on the ground for the winter tour. The park is the location of the only known interpretation of a painting in existence.  The interpretation contains 54 topiary people, eight boats, three dogs, a monkey, a cat and a real pond.  The scene represents George Seurat’s famous painting, A Sunday On The Island Of La Grande Jatte.  There is a gift shop but it is only open April through December. 

There are some good after Holiday bargains.  I noticed that amaryllis bulbs are half price at a local garden center.  What a wonderful cheery flower they are and you get over a month of enjoyment. 

Looking forward to spring.

Nancy Bendle  OSU Extension Master Gardener Coordinator 

Rob Leeds OSU  Extension  Educator/Ag/NR
Delaware County 
 

Winter Related Problems
As it is in central Ohio, we have cold, snow, warm, rain and, then the cycle starts all over again. The snow is practically gone and our “Frosty the Snowman” is slowly melting into the soil.  With snow comes the ice and using de-icing products.  Some of our ornamental plants suffer from the soluble salts that may build up along our driveways and from direct highway spray. White Pine can be more severely damaged because of its fine needles along highways. 

If you notice your plant not thriving, you may want to consider using a plant that is more tolerant of salt. Symptoms of excessive salt damage may include:  tip and edge burn of the leaves, stunted caused by slow growth, affected foliage turns yellow or premature autumn leaf color in the fall, wilting and eventual death . One characteristic of salt injury to evergreens along a road is that the branches facing the road are affected and turn brown. Trees within 60 feet suffer more. Salt and snow should not be piled around plants or in places where the salt water will drain into plants when the snow melts.  If this is the case, you might want to consider flushing the area with pure water as soon as the snow melts. 

Where new trees and shrubs are to be planted and where exposure to salt is likely, select species or cultivars resistant to salt injury.  The following is a partial list:  Tamarack, Honey Locust, White Oak, Red Oak, Horsechestnut (common), Eastern Redbud, Black Walnut, Eauropean Mountain-Ash, Littleleaf Linden, American Linden, Trident Maple, Sycamore Maple, Hawthorne, and Callery Pear.  High tolerance evergreens are:  Pfitzer Juniper, Mugho Pine, Austrian Pine, and Black Hills Spruce.  There are other selections suggested and if you would like a copy, please call the Extension Office at 740-833-2030 

In your home environment you can use calcium chloride and calcium magnesium acetate (CMA), these products are more expensive than sodium chloride but will cause much less damage to your plants. Good websites to visit for Care for Ice Damaged Trees

 How to Repair Ice-Damaged Trees 

 Storm Damage to Landscape Trees: Prediction, Prevention, Treatment 

Frost Heaving

New perennial transplants and small shrubs are susceptible to frost heaving.  Freezing and thawing can cause your new plants to push up out of the ground and expose their roots to drying winds, and freezing temperatures.  Freezing and drying of the roots can cause death to a new plant. 

Mulching around the base and covering the root zone will help prevent the soil from freezing and thawing as it will keep the soil more constant. If you notice your plants have heaved, push them back into place and mulch if possible. The mulch is used to keep the soil cold 

Sunscald
Sunscald is caused when the sun warms tree bark during the day and then the bark rapidly cools at night.  The fluctuations are most common on the south and southwest sides of trunks and branches.  The injury may kill the inner bark.  I have a magnolia tree facing south and it has thin bark.  The tree has been injured by sunscald and frost cracks. 

Once the damage has occurred, there is nothing you can do to repair it.  Wrapping trunks of susceptible trees for the winter protection “tree wrap” may give some help.  Remove the wrap in the spring. 
It is best not to treat cracks with tree wrap or tar to help heal the damage.  If possible the tree will scar over itself.

Frost Cracks

Frost Cracks are splits in the bark.  The cracks are caused from sudden drops in temperature, usually when the temperature drops to 20-30 degrees, following a day of bright sunshine.   Deciduous trees crack more often than evergreens.  Cracking occurs more often one a south or southwest location.  Trees that are susceptible are:  Apple, Crabapple, Linden, London Planetree, some Maples, Pin Oak, Tuliptree and Walnut.  I have a crabapple on the southwest side of my house that has been affected by frost cracks. 

Callus tissue will typically form over the crack but if conditions are right the following winter the crack may open again. 

Desiccation Injury

Desiccation is called “winter drying” or “winter burn” and is usually observed in late winter and early spring.  Boxwood displays brown leaves, rhododendron exhibit browning, leaf scorch on the margins, and white pines may exhibit brown tips on the needles. If the needles on a evergreen turn brown, they may fall from the tree. The needles that stay on the tree may not recover their color.    Water is lost through the leaves faster than conditions can be absorbed through the roots in the frozen ground. 

When leaf and air temperatures are low and the humidity high, little moisture loss occurs.  However, when leaf and air temperatures are high with low humidity, moisture loss can be excessive.  Windy conditions will also cause more moisture loss.

I saw a picture of evergreens that were protected by snow and above the snow line the tree was brown from lack of moisture and drying conditions. 

It is always important to water plants in the fall before going into winter, especially if there was a summer drought.  For some plants you may want to place a protective barrier of burlap around the plants to protect them from winter winds and sun.  Antidessicant sprays applied should be applied once in December and another time in February.   Evergreen Azalea, Holly, Boxwood and Rhododendron may benefit from being sprayed.   I have no personal experience with antidessicant sprays but I do make sure my plants go into winter well watered. 

Rodents and Rabbits

With extensive snow coverage, rabbits, mice and moles may cause extensive damage to trees. Trees often affected are:  Apple, Crabapple, Mountain Ash, Hawthorn, Euonymus and Viburnums. One winter I hade two crabapples extensively damaged by rabbits.  I am sure at some point I will have to remove the trees.  Complete girdling of stems and trunks will kill the plants and create wounds for borers and disease organisms to enter. 

Protect stems and trunks in late autumn with plastic collars cut in a spiral fashion so they can be slipped around tree trunks. This can still be done.  Hardware cloth can also be wrapped around tree trunks.  I have not tried aluminum foil but that is also a recommendation. 

Trunks, stems and lower limbs can be sprayed or painted with rodent repellent. 
Source:  OSU Fact Sheet HYG-1016, Cornell Fact Sheet, Winter Injury, Plant Facts

Trees to Attract Wildlife

I have several trees and shrubs that attract wildlife.  Deer come into my yard to eat crabapples, which is probably not good thing.    Birds love the apples on my Golden Rain Tree Crapapple and can clean the apples off in a day.  Serviceberry is another tree that the birds will clean very quickly of their fruit. Unfortunately the fruit of the Service Berry and Crabapple are gone before winter. Blue birds feed on the Bayberry bushes in front of my house. The following is a list of trees that attract wildlife compiled by Delaware County Master Gardeners for their fair display:  Serviceberry, Shadbush, Dogwoods, Hollies, Cherry, Plum, Birch, Oaks, Junipers, Cedars, Pines, Douglas Fir and Crabapples.  Native fruit bearing shrubs are as follows:  Roses, Raspberries, Blackberries, Brambles (Rubus), Elderberries (Sambucus), Blueberries, Huckleberries (vaccimum) and Viburnums, Arrowwoods (viburnum)

The birds love thickets of pines for shelter and some water free of ice.  We went on a woods walk over the holiday and I noticed that the Robins were in the woods.  The birds must have made a mistake and did not fly south. I know they are not here from a return trip from Florida.  There was evidence of fruit in the woods on the snow.  Robins will eat crabapples and my guess is that they came from my trees. 

Caring for Ice-Damaged Trees

We had a severe ice storm last winter, just about this time of year.  Many trees and shrubs were extensively damaged. There was still a lot of damage to been seen this summer heading east on the inter-state.  Trees were snapped and were laying on the ground, the destruction was unbelievable.  After the ice storm I looked for information on care for ice-damaged trees and found a good resource from Ontario Canada.  The Ontario Extension Notes has a lot of good information, just ignore the Canadian phone numbers and noted certifications.
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Master Gardener School
If you have an interest in gardening and enjoy helping others, you are in invited to apply to become an Ohio State University Extension Master Gardener Volunteer.  The classes will start on March 11th and run through April 27th.  Cost is $155 which includes a manual, informational bulletins and handouts.  Classes are held in the evenings from 6:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

You will be exposed to so great speakers from OSU, Industry Experts and Master Gardeners.  Topics will include: Botany, Shade Gardening, Pruning, Trees: Why Plant Them, Plant Pathology and Diseases, Seed Starting & Cold Frame Gardening, Healthy Vegetables, Lawn Care & Weed I.D., Vegetable Gardening, Propagation, Perennials, Soil ;& Fertilization, Ornamental Shrubs, Indoor Gardening, Strawberries & Brambles and Landscaping.

Training classes are limited so if you would like an application, or have any questions, please call the OSU Extension Office (740/833-2030).

The Delaware County Master Gardener Program is associated with OSU Extension and in the eleven years since its inception, the volunteers have contributed over 20,000 hours to the Delaware County community.

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