Rooted with Sean

So we thought now would be a great opportunity to talk about the impacts these "wintery" conditions have on your outdoor plants and our feathered friends.

Believe it or not, these harsher than usual winter weather conditions are in most cases better for the health and survivability of your hardy landscape plants. We're talking about trees, shrubs and perennials here. 

Our winters typically feature regular freeze and thaw cycles. Cold weather followed by warmer temperatures with rain, and then back to sub freezing temps. These conditions are devastating to many hardy perennial plants. Cold temperatures aren't an issue for them, but the constant fluctuations are, and this causes many perennials to "disappear" over the winter. So steady and reliable colder temps are going to keep perennials much happier over the winter. 

In addition to the lack of freeze and thaw cycles so far this winter we've also had the benefit of a pretty good amount of snow on the ground for most of the season, and snow is the best insulation your plants could ask for. This is especially beneficial to broad leaved evergreen plants like boxwoods, Rhododendron, Azaleas, Laurels and other landscape staples that keep their leaves in the winter. Unlike deciduous plants, those are the ones that lose their leaves during the winter, evergreen plants must continue to move water from the soil through their roots to their stems and leaves. When the soil freezes it becomes more difficult for this to happen. So having this deep snow cover during our coldest days and nights of the winter will be very beneficial to these types of plants which often can burn during our typically cold but snowless winters.

As beneficial as this deep snow cover has been for our garden plants, the same cannot be said about our bird friends. Deep snow makes it difficult for birds to forage for food that they would normally find on the ground. If you're not already feeding the birds in your backyard, please consider helping them out by offering them some extra food this winter. And if you're already feeding your feathered friends, keep up the good work. 

We have a wide selection of premium Lyric birdseed to choose from, and we've recently expanded our birdfeeder selection. So whether you're new to backyard birdfeeding or a seasoned pro, stop by and see us soon. We're not just plant people, we're bird people too.