Some of us love snow, yet, others could live without it. What about our plants? There are many benefits of snow when it comes to protecting and providing for your landscape.
When the snow melts in the spring, all of that snow is water. Your plants will take up the moisture. This is especially beneficial because over the winter, when all of the snow is still frozen, the plants are not receiving any water. The plants are ready for the water. It is even better when we get a January thaw. This way, midway through the winter, the plants have a chance to add some more moisture into their systems.
As the snow starts to pile up on the ground, it will start to cover small bushes and plants. This can be very beneficial in that it shields the plants from the winter winds. The wind can dry a plant out to the point of killing that portion of that plant. Snow can be an excellent wind break.
Snow can also act as a blanket for our plants. For perennials, the roots are the only thing that are still alive once winter comes. When the snow has covered the plants, it helps to moderate the ground temperatures. They may still be below freezing, which is alright, but it helps to stop the roots from becoming brutally cold. If the air temperature just bottoms out, and we are set record low temperatures, the snow will help to keep the plant warmer.
For those of us who do not like the snow, there are some pretty good benefits of snow. That is hard to deny. We just have to remember that all of this snow can help our plants out, even if we don’t like it.