Make conifers ready for spring and the growing season

Conifers are a beautiful ornament to any garden or park, delighting the eye with their evergreen colour and fragrance. Conifers have many advantages over deciduous plants, such as frost tolerance, dryness, longevity and low maintenance. However, this does not mean that conifers do not require attention and care, especially in preparation for the growing season.

In this article it will be explained why it is important to check the condition of conifers not only in summer and how to take good care of your conifers in autumn, winter and spring.

Why is it important to check the condition of conifers not only in summer?

Many gardeners think that conifers do not need special care during the cold season because plants do not shed their leaves and do not lose their decorative value.

However, this is a misconception that can lead to poor health and appearance of conifers. In reality, conifers need regular inspections of the condition of their needles, branches, roots, soil and environment throughout the year, not just in summer. This is related to the following factors:

– Conifers are not completely dormant like deciduous plants, but continue to vegetate, although more slowly, during the cold season. This means that they require an adequate supply of moisture, nutrients, light and heat to function properly.

– Conifers evaporate moisture through their needles, which remain green and functional in winter. If the root system cannot absorb enough water from the soil due to frost, dryness or salinity, the needles begin to dry out, yellow, turn brown and eventually fall off. This leads to loss of ornamentality, reduced winter hardiness and increased risk of disease, destructive activity of insect pests.

– Coniferous plants are negatively affected by stress due to sudden temperature changes, sunburn, wind, snow, mechanical damage, and other negative factors occurring in the cold season. This also affects on its condition and requires timely diagnostics and correction.Therefore, careful monitoring of the health of coniferous plants is important not only in summer, but also in autumn, winter and spring in order to detect, correct possible problems in time, prevent spread, and ensure optimal conditions for the development of conifers.

How to prepare conifers for the growing season?

The preparation of conifers for the growing season starts in autumn and continues until spring. This period includes the following stages:

– Autumn care. Autumn care of conifers consists of the following activities:

– Watering. Conifers need regular and abundant watering in autumn in order to saturate the roots with moisture before winter. Watering should be done in the morning or evening, avoid soaking the needles. The last watering should be done 2-3 weeks before frost. Avoid excessive moistening or over-drying of the soil.

– Feeding. Conifers need feeding in autumn to replenish the nutrients in the roots and prepare them for winter. Fertilisation should be carried out with products containing potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, micro-elements and organic matter. These products should be dissolved in water and applied under the root of the plants. The last fertilisation should be done a month before frost.

It is important to observe the timing of planting conifers. It is best to plant conifers in early spring – March to April or in autumn – late August to October.

– Pruning. Conifers need pruning in autumn to remove dry, damaged, diseased, excess branches and to give the crown the desired shape. Pruning should be carried out with a sharp and disinfected tool, make smooth and even cuts and treat it with garden varnish. It is important to carry out pruning in dry, warm weather.

If you need expert advice on the care and \ or protection of coniferous plants from cold weather, please contact the specialists of the research centre “Green Clinic” by tel: +380632851405.