Rise | We've Done the Research
Protect from Road Salts
Nobody enjoys driving on ice, and the salt trucks that come through your neighborhood after a heavy night snow is an essential part of keeping roads safe during the wintertime. If, however, you have plants, flowers, or trees near the roadside, you will want to take extra precaution to protect these plants from the de-icing crews on the roads.
De-icing salt will wreak havoc on any type of plants (including grasses) and will render the soil essentially infertile over years. One of the best ways to protect your roadside plants and trees is through adding a layer of burlap matting around the base of the plants and trees you want to protect. Another cheaper option is to cover around the bases of each plant, flower or shrub with a thick layer of cardboard and then add a small layer of dirt or compost to cover up the cardboard. This will help to keep the salts from penetrating into the ground soil where the roots of your plants are. During the first days of spring, you will want to heavily water your yard to try to flush as much salt as you can from your yard.
Prepare Your Perennials
If you have several different types of perennial flowers and shrubs incorporated into your landscape design, you will need to engage in certain activities to protect these plants during the winter. Certain perennials flower bulbs such as dahlias and gladiolas won't survive the winter months so you will need to dig them up and store them either in a cold room or in a bag in your refrigerator during the winter months.
For other perennials, you will want to cut off watering in the fall time to slow their growth and cut the leaves and stems back to around 6-8 inches from the ground to protect them during dormancy.
Tobias Roberts
Tobias runs an agroecology farm and a natural building collective in the mountains of El Salvador. He specializes in earthen construction methods and uses permaculture design methods to integrate structures into the sustainability of the landscape.
