We have received a foot of snow in the past week! I have young Blue Star Junipers, a Dwarf Bird's Nest Spruce,a Dwarf Mugho Pine and a Dwarf Montgomery Blue Spruce that are just buried! I am wondering if it is better to leave them all covered, or should I dig the snow and gently get it off of them? I know snow is insulation, but this is a lot of snow! The temps are cold also, lows are zero or single digits (Brrrr) Any input or advice would be appreciated! :-?
Kay I always leave the snow on my shrubs and they seem to do OK. We've had a great deal of snow here in Scotland (2 feet and more) followed by hard frosts (-9C to -12C). I find that if the snow is removed then the leaves can be 'burnt' by the frost and damaged. The snow gives a layer of insulation to the roots of plants too so I'd vote for leaving it where it is. Welcome to GardenStew. :-D
Sometimes the snow gets too heavy and will break off branches Kay. In these cases, I gently give the branches a shake to get some of the snow to fall off.
Hello everyone and Happy New Year. Thank you for your advice. It is especially cool to hear from people all around this world who love to grow things!I will leave the snow pack on the poor little shrubs, and wait for warmer temps, and just trust Mother Nature to take its course...it is SO hard to wait through Winter!
I know just how you feel Kay. My poor garden is under 2 feet of snow at the moment with more falling all the time. I have a couple of conifers that were cone shaped - now they look more like fans with the weight of the snow!! Happy New Year from a very white Scotland.
