Winter watering in the big chill of 2010....

Someone recently asked me if she should be watering her trees, shrubs, and other plants this winter. Normally the answer would be yes, but this winter is different. This has been one of the more consistently cold winters in recent memory, and the ground has been frozen solid for at least 2 and maybe close to 3 months now. Usually in my own yard in February, I can find a few spots of unfrozen ground, mostly sun drenched areas  with some southern exposure. But again, this year is different--everything seems to be frozen solid. Watering frozen ground will not benefit your plants since the water will just run off. It could even do damage by pooling up around the base of the plant and then freezing which could cause damage to the crown of the plant.

If you recall however, we had a very wet snowstorm back in late October which melted quickly and provided our plants with a good shot of late fall water. Within a few weeks the weather turned cold and it has stayed mostly cold since. So the moisture levels in the ground have been adequate plus we've had enough snow
to keep things from drying out. One positive thing I've noticed about this winter has been the general lack of wind.  It's been cold here along the front range but
not terribly windy like it is in most years.

Until we get several consecutive days and nights above freezing the situation will not change. At the rate things are going we could have frozen ground until late March or early April. I don't know about you, but I'm ready for spring. So hang in
there and it will get here eventually!

Still learning how this works.....

Thanks for visiting my blog. As I just started this very recently I am still having some
issues with arranging pictures and text etc(it's never as easy as they explain it to
be!) but I will get everything looking good soon. Please check back from time to time
and hopefully this will become a good source for you for Colorado-related landscaping and horticulture. Thanks.