Central Indiana was very lucky this past week. We missed the ice storms that plagued the central US, getting rain or snow instead. Both ice and lots of wet heavy snow can damage your trees and shrubs. There’s not a lot you can do when an ice storm hits. Should you do anything at all?
If your plants are coated with ice or frozen snow, it’s best to not do anything at all. You’ll break or damage the branches as you try to remove the ice. Just let it melt naturally. If it’s just heavy snow, you can try to remove it. Be gentle! Brush it off or use a broom to reach under a branch, then lift and gently shake. Don’t hit the plant with the broom or your shovel to get the snow off.
Some plants have several main trunks instead of just one. This is called having “multiple leaders”. Arborvitae and junipers often have multiple leaders. These leaders can be bent over by heavy snows. If you have these plants in your yard you can do some preventative care. Tie the upright branches together with cloth or nylon stocking before the snow or ice arrives.
Some of the damage from snow and ice is damage actually caused by you. If you shovel snow, don’t throw it onto your shrubs. Stay way from deicing salts made from sodium chloride. If the salt gets on your plants (or drain into the soil after the snow melts) you may see dried foliage and struggling plants. Use cat litter, sand or sawdust instead.
If the ice does break branches off trees and shrubs, there’s not much you can do but remove the broken branches. Cut them all the way back to where they join a larger branch. Remember that tree branches are quite heavy. If the branches are 3” or more in diameter or high in the tree, consider hiring a profession to help (see http://www.treesaregood.org/).
