Parade of Homes

FALL 2023 PARADE of HOMES 131 TREES & SHRUBS 1. KEEP THE HOSE OUT It can't be stressed enough that trees and shrubs need to be well watered before freeze up. Perennials benefit from this, too. If it's been dry two weeks before and two weeks after Thanksgiving, give your trees and shrubs a steady, slow drink. This is especially important for evergreens or trees with shallow or horizontal rooting systems that don't have access to water reservoirs deep in the ground, Hrycyna says. 2. TIME TO PRUNE Make sure you know the seasonal growth habits of your trees and shruwbs to figure out which can be pruned in the fall or spring. "You do not want to disrupt your spring-blooming ones by cutting off your blossoms," Hrycyna says. For example, people who grow forsythia or lilacs can shape or prune them during a two- to three-week window after they bloom because they set their buds in the summer for the following year. 3. DAMAGE PREVENTION Trees and shrubs can be damaged in the winter by animals or the weather. Cedars can be wrapped in burlap or a burlap fence row can be erected next to them as a wind guard, plus it's pro- tection against sun reflection that can cause winter rusting of the branches. The key is not doing that too early. "If this is done too early, you're actu- ally creating a nice little tent for them that makes it sort of a false state of temperature that prevents its natural dormancy pattern." Don't wrap your cedars until the tem- perature is staying in the -4 C to -8 C range, she says. Putting the stakes in the ground earlier is fine, but ensure they're at least five centimetres from the tips of the branches. If rabbits or deer are a problem in your area, put chicken wire fencing around the mature trees, overlapping a few times to make openings smaller. Plastic tree guards can be placed around trunks of a tree, but ensure the guard is at least half a metre up the trunk because deep snow can give rabbits a platform to reach un- protected bark. Tree guards also help keep away voles. If you can't use wire fencing or a tree guard, sprays such as Plantskydd or Bobbex can deter animals because of its smell. They can be sprayed a few times during the fall when it's above a certain temperature. Skoot is another product that can be sprayed on plants because rabbits don't like its bitter tast e. It can't be stressed enough that trees and shrubs need to be well watered before freeze up. FALL 2023 PARADE of HOMES 131

• Cover