Winter is quickly approaching here in Nashville, which means there’s no time to waste in preparing your landscape for winter. Here are a few ways you can protect your lawn and property from winter storms.
1. Wind Protection
Winter winds aren’t too extreme in Nashville, but we still usually have an event or two where the winds are quite a bit in excess of the average for the season. Winter storms in Nashville can feature huge pressure and temperature changes, which can lead to strong winds. Preparing your landscaping for potential wind damage is important to prevent fallen trees, limbs, and damage to your gardens and hardscapes. Winter storm damage can be destructive and especially hard to deal with if the bad weather prevents cleanup. Fallen limbs can take out power, leaving you in the cold with an extended timeline for restoration due to snow and ice or a high number of power outages. Removing limbs before they can become an issue is the best way to avoid this kind of headache when winter storms do roll through the area. Sometimes, entire trees may need to be removed if they haven’t been maintained or have died. The best way to keep this from happening is to have regular tree inspections and maintenance performed by qualified arborists. Disease, rot, and malnutrition can all quickly create a problem for a tree, but it’s not always something you can easily deduce. With the help of a landscaping company like The Parke Company, your trees’ health won’t be a mystery.
There are many ways to make a tree more resistant to heavy winds, but the best bet is to remove any dead or dying limbs quickly and proactively. This keeps the issue from spreading, whether it’s a fungal disease or a pest problem. Early winter is actually a great time to prune trees and remove limbs that may fall. Because trees are in their dormant phase and aren’t using nutrients to grow and maintain their leaves, they can focus on healing the wounds from pruning. Pruning is a dangerous and difficult task for the average person, making it something best left to a trained arborist. There are DIY winter storm preparations you can tackle, but this isn’t one of them.
2. Prevent Cold Damage
The cold can be especially destructive to our yards, trees, and other parts of our landscaping. While Nashville doesn’t always get very cold in the winter, we have a recent example where things got cold and stayed below freezing for days. Back in January of 2024, we experienced a cold snap with heavy snow for the region, making it important to prepare your lawn for a freeze. A lot of the native trees and grasses here in Nashville are fairly hardy against cold weather, but that doesn’t mean they’ll all make it if things get really cold.
How do you protect your landscaping from freezing? Mulching garden beds and around younger trees is a great way to keep the soil temperature higher than the air temperature, preventing damage to developing root systems. Most people mulch in the spring, but adding a protective layer of mulch to your landscaping as winter approaches in the fall is a great way to bolster those defenses. If you’re already using tree services focused on removing problem limbs or trees, you can opt to turn that removed wood into mulch for your property. This is an eco-friendly way to recycle the trees and keep the lawn safe from dangerously low temperatures.
Another great way to protect your garden plants and shrubbery from frost damage is to wrap them in burlap or other frost blankets. These fabric coverings can be applied in the fall to keep plants safe from extreme cold and even make them hardier against heavy winds or snow. It’s best to have these wraps or covers applied by landscapers because, without proper experience, you can install them incorrectly. This can lead to the plants freezing, regardless of the quality of materials you’re using.
If you have an irrigation system for your lawn, it’s critical to properly winterize it to prevent costly damage. Winterizing irrigation systems is not nearly as hard as it sounds, but it’s always a good idea to let your landscaping company handle the process to ensure it’s done right. Shutting off the water supply to the system is the first step, and then ensuring that all the standing water is drained from the pipes is the next phase of winterization. When water freezes, it expands. This can crack or damage irrigation pipes and sprinkler systems, meaning they need to be replaced before they can work again in the spring. Repairs to irrigation systems are more expensive than maintenance, and they can also leave you with a patchy lawn after pipes and sprinklers are dug up and replaced or repaired. Avoid unsightly issues from broken irrigation systems, and winterize your sprinklers this fall. It’s not too late to do it now if you haven’t gotten around to it, but there isn’t much time before a frost is possible!
3. Guard Against Snow, Rain, and Sleet
Snow, sleet, and freezing rain fall during most winters in Nashville. While harsh winter weather isn’t a sure thing and might not be super common this far south, it never hurts to be ready for it. Storm services like tree removal and cleanup can be expensive, so it’s best to prepare and prevent the problem. Snow and ice accumulate on limbs, putting them under tremendous pressure. Fortunately, native trees are fairly strong against the levels of ice and snow we typically get in Nashville. But if those trees are damaged or unhealthy, wet snow or an eighth of an inch of freezing rain can quickly lead to dozens of fallen limbs or worse.
Keep Your Landscape Safe This Holiday Season
If you want to prevent property damage and costly emergency storm services, be proactive and have your trees pruned in preparation for winter this year. Give us a call at The Parke Company to learn more about the winterization services we offer and to schedule a consultation today.