The winter of 2013/14 was one of the coldest on record and as a result, many of our landscape plantings suffered from winter injury.  Winter injury occurs in plantings when the temperature of a plant part drops lower than the tolerance level of the plant.  When a plant is exposed to these excessive cold temperatures for an extended period of time, plant cells may begin to die, resulting in the winter injury.  One way to help protect your valuable plantings during cold temperatures is to apply a winterizing fertilization.  The nutrients that should be applied include nitrogen, iron, phosphate, manganese, potash and sulfur.  This fertilizer combination is best applied in a granular form around the base of the plant.  The best time to apply a winter fertilization to your landscape plantings is anytime from late November thru December, once the primary growing season of the plant is finished for the season.  This feeding application will promote deep root growth during winter's dormancy and helps promote lush foliage next spring. 

Remember, we know how critical it is to fertilize our lawns as we enter winter, making the grass thick, lush and green next spring.  The same positive results can happen when we winterize our landscape plantings too!