Just after Christmas 2017 the weather turned cold, bitter cold. We set multiple record low temperatures in the days that followed Christmas. We received snow at a steady rate. Now the question, what is the snow and cold going to do to my landscape.
Luckily, the answer is not much for the cold and snow itself. The snow acts as an insulation blanket from the bitter cold temperatures. And on top of that, the temperatures are sure cold, but nothing that the plants in our area cannot handle. If we get to temperatures below -20 degrees Fahrenheit, then I would become more concerned, however that does not look likely at this point.
One point of concern that may start to arise is if the snow does not let up, the animals, particularly rabbits, mice and voles, will start to chew on ornamental plants in your landscape. And the damage may be more than normal winter damage from these animals. This is because these animals are not able to find food on the ground because of the extensive snow cover and they have to turn somewhere for a meal, and your landscape plants may be it. There is not much that can be done to deter the feeding at this point unless you set up fencing to stop the animals from being able to get to your plants. However, as the snow piles up, they may be able to make their way over the top of the fence, and with the ground frozen, you will not be able to bury the bottom of the fence and the will just go under the fence.
As we wait out this cold snap, all we can do it dream of warmer weather. It is coming, we just have to wait for it to get here.