Preparing Your Trees And Shrubs For Old Man Winter

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - The early blast of winter-like weather is a good reminder to prepare your trees and shrubs for the harsh weather before it's too late.

The Raikins of Syosset, New York, said goodbye Wednesday to a beloved-- but precarious-- cherry tree.

"We had these two huge trees looming over our bedroom and I just didn't want us to be hurt," Lois Raikin told CBS2's Carolyn Gusoff.

But they do want their other trees and shrubs to survive the ravages of winter, which is why they are mulching.

"Some kind of organic matter that's going to act as basically a blanket," arborist Chris Conway said.

Conway, with Bartlett Tree Experts, says a 1-2 inch layer of mulch insulates the roots.

Other steps to take now before winter hits include thinning out the crown of trees to protect limbs from breaking under wet, heavy snow.

But don't forget your shrubs, either.

"By a little bit of maintenance, pruning here and there, reduce the size of them, you'll reduce that possibility," Conway said.

But Conway advises to be careful when pruning hydrangeas as their blooms were a no-show this summer after winter's Polar Vortex.

"You always cut just above the bud," he said.

At the 200-acre Old Westbury Gardens, the grounds crew is building protective mounds of mulch around rose bushes.

"The point right above the soil line is actually the part of the plant that is most susceptible to the cold," Director of Horticulture at Old Westbury Gardens Maura Brush said.

They're also wrapping upright evergreens with twine to protect against snow; the most vulnerable plantings will get wrapped in burlap.

But experts say don't overdo it, just let nature take its course.

"We have to remember that the plants have their own systems that protect them. They sort of ready themselves for the winter," Brush said.

Some winters are harsher than others and the experts at Old Westbury Gardens say let your shrubs and trees harden so they survive whatever Old Man Winter throws our way.

"They all go to sleep and wake up in the spring," Raikin said.

A dose of liquid fertilizer before the deep freeze sets in can also help new plantings survive the winter.

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