Stone Soup Gardens
  • Home
  • Our Services
    • Community-Based Projects
    • Residential Landscaping
    • Rain Gardens
    • Whole Systems Water Design
    • Education
  • Portfolio
    • Gardens
    • Stone Work
    • Woodwork
    • Cisterns & Water Systems
    • Community Projects
    • Community Events
  • RainWise
  • About
  • Contact
  • Blog

Stone Soup Gardens Blog ​

Should I knock the snow off my plants?

2/11/2019

 
Picture
Winter weather is here in the northwest, and it is a blanket of white.  Today, sitting in my office in Seattle, I've watched an inch accumulate on the cars parked just out my office window.  

One question lingering in my mind as the snow piles up, is whether or not I should be knocking the snow off of my plants?  There appear to be several schools of thought on this, but I'm going to go with what is most practical and relevant, based on the current conditions outside.  

First of all, trying to knock snow off of frozen plants could easily break branches or limbs.  While the snow is heavy, particularly for our region, it also behaves as an insulator for the plants, protecting them from further damage.  Once the snow stops falling and begins to melt, the plants should begin to slowly recover.  The snow also protects the plants from wind, particularly our evergreen and broadleaf plants, and keeps them pinned down rather than thrashing about in icy cold conditions. Since the plants are currently dormant, the lack of light shouldn't affect them.

Once spring hits allow your plants time to recover.  They may be a bit slow to bounce back this year, and some of them might be saggy or misshapen, but don't get overzealous about pulling them out into you are certain there is no hope of recovery.  

It is also not wise to shake the limbs or branches on larger trees to remove the snow.  Be gentle! The trees are already bearing lots of weight, and could easily snap up and break off causing greater problems for the tree, as well as for you! If a limb does break, have the limb removed and the stub properly cut as the weather allows.  This will ensure that your tree stays healthy moving into spring.

The main take away from this is to properly prune your plants each year to ensure that they have a strong foundation to support all kinds of weather.  Clearly, it is something that we must all be thinking about during this massive snow event. 

In the meantime, enjoy frolicking in the snow!  Our crew is certainly getting a much needed body break during all this weather, but hopefully we'll be back at you soon once conditions improve.


Picture

Comments are closed.
    This is how Stone Soup Gardens rolls - check out our blog for current, upcoming, and past projects, events, and other super cool stuff worth mentioning.
    ​

    Archives
    ​

    November 2021
    March 2021
    March 2020
    February 2019
    January 2019
    October 2018
    July 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013

    Categories

    All
    Arbor
    Bag Monsters
    Beacon Food Forest
    Bees
    Bioremediation
    Carpentry
    Chicken Coops
    Chicken Coop Tour
    Chickens
    Cistern
    Classes
    Community
    Community P Patch
    Community P-Patch
    Design
    Edible Plants
    Education
    Fences
    Fremont Solstice Parade
    Greywater
    Hardscaping
    Harvest Fair
    Hatching Eggs
    Hiring
    Hugelcultur Beds
    Instagram
    Irrigation
    Job Posting
    Media
    Mushrooms
    Native Plants
    Omculture
    Patio Installation
    Permaculture
    Plastic Whale
    Pollinator Pathways
    Quail
    Quail Egg Hatching
    Rain Garden Install
    Raised Bed
    Recycled Costumes
    Seattle Tilth
    Sensory Garden
    Swale
    Topiary
    Treehouse
    Urban Farming
    Volunteer
    Weather
    Yard Party
    Zero Waste Seattle

    RSS Feed

Stone Soup Gardens; licensed, bonded & insured 
Contact Us: GardenerGnome@gmail.com -or- (206) 661-7628


  • Home
  • Our Services
    • Community-Based Projects
    • Residential Landscaping
    • Rain Gardens
    • Whole Systems Water Design
    • Education
  • Portfolio
    • Gardens
    • Stone Work
    • Woodwork
    • Cisterns & Water Systems
    • Community Projects
    • Community Events
  • RainWise
  • About
  • Contact
  • Blog