Come winter, the primary focus for most is to ensure the roads, sidewalks, pathways, and parking areas are safe and clear from snow and ice. However, it is also imperative to give special care to the greenery around the surrounding landscapes. Your landscape may be designed to be resilient, but a harsh winter can leave it lifeless. In fact, you could be doing things that are damaging your landscape drastically without even realizing it. Simply using the right landscaping supplies and de-icing products can significantly affect how well your plants survive the cold. In today’s article, we share a few helpful tips on protecting a landscape. Many landscaping professionals will want to share these tips with their clients.

Sweep de-icing product and salt away

The maximum damage to your plants can come from the salt used to clear snow from the roads, sidewalks, and driveways. Some of the most common de-icing products come with sodium chloride, which can damage or even kill your greenery. When you have used de-icing salt to clear your driveway or on the sidewalk by your home, make sure to sweep it away from your greenery when the ice has melted. Leaving it there allows it to seep into your green areas and right into your flower patch or the roots of your trees. Dispose of the swept-up de-icing salt in the trash to keep it off the ground. It is also advised to keep any de-icing salt away from storm drains.

Don’t pile snow

Pile the shoveled snow off your green turf. Ensure that there are no snow piles against your trees or shrubs either, and certainly not on your lawn. Piled snow is concentrated with the salt in the de-icing products you have used. This salt gradually leaches into your soil as the snow and ice melt. You can also pre-empt this by using mulch. Get mulch from us here at FSI Landscape Supply and add it around the roots of your trees and bushes to reduce salt accumulation in the soil.

Consider planting salt-safe plants

The plants next to the road or sidewalk are worst affected by the spray splashing off the de-iced streets and right into your garden. All the de-icing products found in the melted ice or snow mounds can sometimes land on top of the plants planted close to the road or sidewalk and even the driveway. Choose salt-tolerant hardy plants for this section of your garden. But remember that while they are more tolerant of de-icing salt, some damage can potentially occur.

Smart Snow removal

Using a snow blower to assist with your de-icing efforts is smart and convenient. But if all the removed snow is being thrown onto your garden, you are causing untold damage. Keep an eye out for where the shoot is aimed. Delicate shrubs, trees, or plants may be the target, and heavy snow may cause the branches to break. Shovel the snow off early and do it often so that you don’t have enormous piles around your garden or piled onto the law. As the temperatures fluctuate, heavy snow can create snow mold, which can be an issue. Avoid excessive salt around landscapes and use just as much as you need to melt the ice.

Protect your branches from heavy snowfall

Tree branches are brittle in the winter. Snow settling on them places a heavy burden, and you must remove it. But take care not to shake the branch to get the snow off. This could snap it off the tree. Instead, use a broom to brush off the snow gently.

Pay attention to the right products and in the right amounts when you choose your de-icing products from your landscaping supplies store. With a bit of attention in the right direction, you can ensure that post-winter, your garden appears as green and healthy as it did in spring.