All About Winter Protection — By W. C. McGCollom, #, 
YOUR LAWN NEEDS MANURING NOW, AND EVERY TREE, SHRUB, VINE, FRUIT OR BULB PLANTED 
THIS YEAR REQUIRES SPECIAL CARE THIS FALL— ALSO HOW TO STORE VEGETABLES FOR WINTER 
yale newly planted trees, shrubs, vines, 
and fruits, no matter how hardy, 
should have protection the first season or 
two. The best plan is to mulch the ground 
with half rotted manure. Don’t be afraid 
of putting on too much as that is well nigh 
impossible, for the mulch tends to keep an 
even condition in the ground and also acts 
as a fertilizer. Before mulching see if 
any tree or shrub stands in a hole that is 
filled with water all winter; if so make a 
trench to drain away the surplus and raise 
a small mound to shed the water from the 
trunk. 
CONIFERS AND OTHER EVERGREENS 
Even the hardiest of our native ever- 
greens are likely to suffer in one of three 
ways. 
First, “blasting” (i.e., the browning of the 
foliage, which is often conspicuous in March) 
is caused by strong sunshine after several 
days of dull freezing weather. 
Second, conifers are frequently spoiled 
by heavy snowstorms which weigh down 
the branches and often split them, causing 
them to die later in the season. Unhappily 
it is usually the grandest tree or most con- 
spicuous branch that suffers this fate. 
Third, evergreens as a class are naturally 
' fibrous rather than tap rooters and in my 
experience they invariably root close to the 
surface, consequently they are susceptible to 
alternate freezing and thawing, which is 
more harmful than severe but steady cold. 
To prevent the first trouble, blasting, we 
must decrease the light but not the air. 
Small evergreens such as Irish yew and 
juniper are commonly covered with straw 
or burlap, but in mild winters the plants will 
suffer for want of air. Box is particularly 
sensitive. Another bad feature of this 
method is that the covering is likely to 
harbor mice and rabbits which will feed on 
the plants if they run short of rations. 
I prefer burlap to straw as it admits more 
air and is not so likely to form a shelter for 
mice or rabbits. 
The ideal way to protect rhododendrons is 
to make a superstructure of sticks and 
cover it with spruce boughs or prunings from 
old vines. Such an arrangement excludes 
strong sunlight and keeps the snow from 
breaking the plants and admits air. This 
is the best way to protect all kinds of ever- 
greens, provided you have a few choice plants, 
but unfortunately it is too expensive for 
use on a large scale. 
On great estates where rhododendrons 
are planted by the thousand the most 
economical plan is to cut young pine trees 
or any other conifers that can. be had cheaply 
and stand them among the rhododendrons. 
Holes are made with crowbars and the pines 
are then stuck in so that they appear to be 
growing. The south side of every rhodo- 
dendron should have the most protection. 
These cut pines will exclude sun, admit air 
and keep the snow from breaking down the 
plants. Also they are economical if you 
happen to live in the vicinity of a natural 
growth of pines, which is the case on Long 
Island. 
Packing boxes will protect plants from 
snow, but they are unsightly and a better 
protector against the snow is simply to tie 
them with a straw rope firmly — not tightly 
— just enough to prevent the snow from 
pulling down the branches. 
It is generally impossible to cover hedges, 
but when a hedge is in danger of being 
covered by drifting snow, a wire or two can 
be run lengthwise of the hedge and if this 
is shaken well it will usually cause most of 
the snow to fall off. If this device cannot 
be used I would strongly advise going over 
the hedges after a'snow-storm and knocking 
off the snow with a wooden rake. 
All evergreens when newly planted should 
be protected at the roots for a season or 
two or until they show that they are estab- 
lished. A good heavy mulch of half rotted 
manure will do, but most people make the 
mistake of using manure that is too well 
rotted. Any material that gets very com- 
pact after a rain or two, is bad. The idea 
is to keep the mulch as loose as possible and 
thereby equalize as nearly as possible the 
moisture condition in the soil. A brick 
may dry out a hundred times as fast as a. 
sponge, and a mulch that is too compact may 
shut off tree roots from sufficient moisture. 
I believe that more evergreens are lost 
from lack of moisture during winter than 
from any other cause, I would therefore 
advise giving the soil .eneath young ever- 
greens a thorough soaking in late fall, if 
there has been any scarcity of rain. 
TREES, SHRUBS AND ROSES 
Tender deciduous trees and shrubs are 
much easier to protect than evergreens, 
because they require no air during their 
resting period, therefore, you can straw 
them, cover them with leaves or even bury 
them without any bad results. 
Indeed, I prefer the burying method. All 
that need be done is to loosen the roots on 
one side with a spade, bend the plant over 
gently, tie all the shoots together, put a 
mound under the side of the plant so that 
the stems will not have to bend at too acute 
an angle, and cover the plants with about a 
foot of earth. The mound tends to shed 
the water and after it has frozen a trifle 
on top the mound can be covered with 
First step in protecting newly planted or tender 
evergreens. Make holes with a crowbar 
Second, set stout poles in this fashion and tie them 
securely at the top 
168 
Third, cover the framework with burlap. It keeps 
out sunshine and admits enough air 
