Winterize Your Trees

The new year is in full swing and as the winter weather ebbs and flows, Denver will continue to see freezing temperatures, flurries of precipitation and snowstorms potentially as often as we see sunny, 60-degree days. We caught up with the smart folks at Denver Parks and Recreation’s forestry office to discuss the best methods for winterizing the trees in your yard. For insight and expertise on how to protect your trees from Denver’s highly variable winter months, read on.

How should a homeowner protect a tree during the winter months?
Place mulch around the base of the tree, about three to four inches from dripline to dripline, if not three to four inches. Leave a three-inch gap from the edge of the mulch to the stem of the tree. Because we have warm winter days in Denver, too, watering your tree in the winter is also essential. Flood irrigation around the tree when daytime temperatures reach 45 degrees or higher (if the drip line lacks residual snow cover). In Colorado, winter watering months are typically November to February. Regardless of the age of the tree, this advice applies across the board.

Is there an ideal timeframe that Colorado homeowners should have their trees pruned each year?
Pruning can be done at any time. The dormant season is best for pruning, especially for fruit trees, but homeowners who do their own pruning should wait until they can determine the difference between live and dead material. Always hire a professional if you’re unsure. However, American elms and any tree in the rose family (crabapples, pears, plums, cherry, apple) should be pruned during the winter months. Fruit trees should also be pruned in the winter months to avoid the spread of fire blight. Pruning maple and walnut trees during winter months is not ideal because they will bleed sap from the pruning cuts.

Should people expect a certain level of damage to their trees during the winter or can it be entirely prevented?
Winter damage can be avoided if trees are regularly watered and properly mulched. Damage can occur in what we describe as “heavy load events” – a lot of snow breaking limbs – or a quick hard freeze, especially common for conifer trees. We saw this happen recently in October 2019 because of the two freezing nights.

When discussing winter damage, the term “dieback” comes up fairly often. What is dieback?
Dieback is a condition in a plant in which branches or shoots die from the tip inward; caused by many conditions, but particularly a drought condition if they are not properly watered.

If branches break in a snowstorm, what’s the best use of those that have fallen or broken?
We advise mulching them and re-using that material in your landscaping, flower beds and even around the base of your trees by chipping material using a brush chipper. Alternatively, Denver’s Department of Transportation & Infrastructure (formerly Denver Public Works) collects a limited amount of branches. These must be no larger than four inches in diameter, and they must be cut into lengths of four feet or less, bundled and tied, and weigh no more than 50 pounds. Customers may set out up to 10 bundles of branches on their scheduled every-four-week extra trash collection. Denver residents can also drop off branches at the Cherry Creek Recycling Drop-off center.

Do you have any other tree winterizing tips?
For young trees wrap the trunks each year with tree wrap, until the bark develops furrows. This is especially important with thin-barked species such as honey locust, maple, linden and fruit trees. Starting at the base, wrap the trunk covering each turn about 30% up to the first branch union of the canopy to protect them from the intense sunlight.