All About Ice, Snow & Frost Tree Care

Josh Rongish, district manager from Davey’s Omaha, Nebraska, office, talks about protecting trees from winter weather, his favorite trees and his Davey career.  

In this episode we cover:  

• Safety in winter weather (0:40) 
• Should you knock ice/snow off your tree? (1:20) 
• What can you do for trees in low temperatures? (2:38) 
• What is wrapping bark and how to do it? (3:30) 
• Will trees recover from freeze damage? (4:25)  
• Watering your tree to protect during the cold (5:41) 
• Proper mulching for winter protection (6:55)  
• Changing hardiness zones and picking the right tree (10:10) 
• The importance of native trees (12:40) 
• Native trees that Josh loves (13:45) 
• How Josh got started with Davey (15:14)  
• The feeling of saving trees (16:56)  

To find your local Davey office, check out our find a local office page to search by zip code.  

To learn more about preparing trees for winter, read our blog, Seasonal Tree Care Checklist: How to Keep Trees Healthy This Winter. 

To learn more about tree wrapping, read our blog, Should I Wrap Trees for Winter Protection. 

To learn more about helping your trees survive the winter, read our blog, Five Steps to Help Trees Survive Winter with Little Damage.  

Connect with Davey Tree on social media:
Twitter: @DaveyTree
Facebook: @DaveyTree
Instagram: @daveytree
YouTube: The Davey Tree Expert Company
LinkedIn: The Davey Tree Expert Company 
 

Connect with Doug Oster at www.dougoster.com. 

 
Have topics you'd like us to cover on the podcast? Email us at podcasts@davey.com. We want to hear from you!    

Transcript

[music]

Doug Oster: Welcome to the Davey Tree Expert Company's Podcast; Talking Trees. I'm your host, Doug Oster. Each week, our expert arborists share advice on seasonal tree care, how to make your trees thrive, arborists favorite trees, and much, much more. Tune in every Thursday to learn more because here at The Talking Trees Podcast, we know trees are the answer. I'm joined this week by Josh Rongish. He's a district manager in the Omaha office of the Davey Tree Expert Company. How you doing, Josh?

Josh Rongish: Very good, Doug. Nice brisk morning here.

Doug: Well, that leads me right into our topic all about ice, snow, and frost care for trees. I guess the first place to start would be after a big snow is safety when you're walking into those trees. Right?

Josh: For sure. For sure. Anytime we get a snow, an ice storm, any of those things that's adding excess weight to the trees, the last thing you want to be out there is getting up under those trees until some of that snow ice has melted away, and you can start seeing where some defects are because they most likely will be there.

Doug: Well, I got a lot of evergreens, and when we do have a big wet snow, I always wonder, should I be trying to knock it off the tree or do I leave it be?

Josh: Honestly, just leave it be. These trees have been evolved for millions of years to have snowfall on them and stuff. They're flexible, they're designed to have that. Will you get an occasional broken branch if we have some of this really heavy snow? Certainly, but getting out there and shaking the snow off is absolutely something that doesn't need to be done. In fact, it could do little bits of damage to the tree in the process. Definitely something we don't recommend doing.

Doug: It's always scary when we get one of those ice storms couple times a year, and I see that tree basically surrounded by a quarter inch of ice. Same thing, do I let nature take its course?

Josh: Sure, sure. You have to at that point. By the time that ice storm has come through and it's just coated on everything, there really isn't much to be done. Most of the work needs to happen before that ice storm comes through and to give that tree as best protection as possible, but once the ice hits, just let it melt, let nature do its thing, then we can go out and do your safety check and health check.

Doug: Now, in the east here, we had a terrible cold spell where we had windshields below minus 20-something. Again, is that something maybe I should have thought about before it was coming for my trees or?

Josh: When you're talking temps are getting that low, any type of protection you can give is definitely going to be welcomed, especially for younger, smaller trees, that's where you have a chance to maybe do some bark wrapping or get some water down first. Just having some moisture in the soil can make a huge difference during some of these cold events, but when those once in 10, 20 years storms come through and you get the super, super cold type temps, just you have be in preventative, get some blankets out, wrap some trunks, little things like that can go a long way.

Doug: Let's put you in that position. Minus 20 is coming. Tell me about wrapping the bark. Is there anything to it? What am I using to do that and how do I do it?

Josh: Sure. There's honestly, any material works. You can go to your local nursery and buy the tree wrap stuff, which is just like a paper cardboard installation type thing. You can use a blanket, a sheet, anything that will just help insulate that trunk from the cold temperatures. How to do it? Really, literally like it says, a trunk wrap. Just wrap it around the trunk. You don't want it to be too tight by any means, but just starting at the base level, all the way up to about the first branching level and just give it a good layer of insulation. That's all it needs.

Doug: Now, I know you can't diagnose this by me just telling you this, but give me your thoughts on this. When we had that event and it got that cold, some of the toughest evergreen trees and shrubs like Hollies look absolutely awful. I've been getting lots of questions about that, and my theory is, "Hey, they'll come back. They're tough as nails. It got cold," but when you hear that, is that something you have to look at, is it case by case, or is there a generality there?

Josh: Again, there's a little bit of both. A big generality is the evergreens you mentioned. When the temps get that cold, they definitely can have some freeze damage, especially if there's mixed in with some drought and there's not a lot of moisture in their system. That, plus those really cold temps, you're going to see some freeze damage on the evergreens. Will they come back? That's the million-dollar question. You know how healthy were they. Can we get some moisture back into the soils? Maybe a little fertilizer. How healthy were they going into the storm event makes a huge difference. A lot of things like that can really decide what's going to make it and not after those cold ones.

Doug: Well, I want to step back on watering and from hosting this podcast, I didn't realize the importance of water before you get this cold weather, especially I guess for evergreens. If the ground isn't frozen and you have severe cold weather coming, as you said, get some water on them.

Josh: Oh, yes. Again, knowing the forecast. If you know you're going to have some days of cold weather, give your trees a good soaking. If you don't have frozen ground, heck, even if you do, I know it's not always easy to get a lot of water out to some trees in the wintertime, but even just if you're able to fill up a five-gallon bucket and take it out, and do that two or three times round, especially the newer trees, the ones that don't have the nice established root zones.

All trees need it, but it is those younger ones that absolutely need some of that through the cold weather just to make sure they can pull through, but water. Then if you're able to put a little bit of mulch down or some leaf debris, or just some type of insulation to keep those surface roots from sustaining too much frost damage.

Doug: Winter is a good time to mulch actually, but, of course, whenever we talk mulch, we have to say mulching the right way.

Josh: Yes. Honestly, mulch is good any time of the year. Winter is a great time to just put fresh mulch down, but as long as you have that layer of mulch, it makes a big difference. As far as doing it correctly, yes, there is absolutely a right way to mulch. What we don't want to see is the volcano mulch. You don't want to pile a mountain of mulch all the way up to the trunk of the tree. You absolutely want the opposite of that, a bit of what's called a little bit of a crater, and then taper it back. Two inches, two and a half inches of mulch is ideal.

When you get up close to the trunk of the tree, have that be closer to maybe an inch, inch and a half, but at the end of the day, as long as you're getting some mulch down on the soil, that will help out significantly.

Doug: Tell me what happens if I'm driving along in a car with you and you see this big area, and there are volcano mulching, huge oaks of six feet on it. What am I going to hear?

Josh: If you're riding with me, you're going to hear a big ugh again because, unfortunately, in this day and age, it is still something that is far, far too common to see. We'll absolutely have major health implications for that tree in the future as far as its lifespan and stuff. The fact that it is still seen so common and we have to have these podcasts, and even talk about it, it should absolutely just be common knowledge for anyone in the landscaping industry planting a tree not to be doing that, is very unfortunate.

All we can do is just keep trying to educate as many people as possible. It's not just your local arborists who gives the sigh when he sees all those newly volcano-mulched trees along the roadway.

Doug: When you have a new client and you see that they've volcano mulch, they don't know any better. They've seen it all over the place. They think it looks great. Do you get much blow back or do they listen to you and say, "Oh, my gosh, I can't believe I was doing that."?

Josh: Sure. A lot of times, if it was the homeowner who went and dug the hole, and planted the tree, and did the mulching, all of themselves, a quick conversation usually is all that takes, and then they understand that, "All right, you're the professional. I just bought this tree at Home Depot two hours ago." It's the landscape companies, the other professionals out there in the industry that are, unfortunately, the ones that are still responsible for a lot of this volcano mulching going on.

Like I said, you just got to have the homeowners know because a lot of times, say, a landscaper did come in and plant that tree and do that volcano mulching. Homeowner didn't know any different. That trio, if he doesn't have an arborist out there or anybody come out and tell him any different, that tree is going to suffer.

Doug: Well, here's another example why it's important to have a certified arborist come to your property. I see this a lot over the east here, over the years, our zone has changed. We have a warmer, and so people look at that zone, in my case, Zone 6, and they start looking for trees and they're like, "Oh, wow, I can plant this now." You might think so, but when you get an event where you've got three days of minus 20, I see a lot of loss that way. Choosing trees when it comes to winter is super important, right?

Josh: Oh, absolutely. Like you said, with the changing environment we're having. What's a Zone 6, could be Zone 7, Zone 5s now. We just don't know. It seems to me like we're having very extremes on both sides of the spectrum, so it's hard to say planting outside of what you're zoned in right now is a wise idea. It is changing. It absolutely is changing. We don't have any idea of where it's going to finish up at. With the extremes, both warm and cold, drought, getting a tree that is maybe native to an area. I would not be looking into going too exotic as far as getting too far out of your zones even though, yes, it is changing.

Doug: Well, over here, Leyland cypress is a pretty tough tree, but you get to that temperature and I see it everywhere. Blue Atlas Cedar, again, where when you might've had it for 20 years and barely making it through the winter, but then you get an event like this, and you'll end up walking out in your yard and start crying.

Josh: No, absolutely. Again, it's those evergreens. I spent some time down in Dallas and they have an Italian cypress there. Same thing when they had that really bad free snow a year or two ago, just wipes them out and there's just nothing you can do about it. When these exotics are in areas they shouldn't necessarily be, it's bound to happen. Evergreens alone, they're going to get frost damage, especially when you get those just negatives that they're just not used to it.

Doug: I want to step back and what you said there, which I think is really important, native trees. They're from your specific area, they've been there forever, and they can take these extremes that we're getting right?

Josh: Oh, sure. It's just how they've evolved. They've been growing in that environment and that type of soil, and that type of wind and sun, and written snow conditions for thousands of years. They can handle those a lot better than if you're-- I mean, that's why you're not planting palm trees because you know they're not going to make it. You just don't got the environment for it. Just natives are hard to beat. It is also nice to get some of the exotics in there just for some of the diversity, but if you're a homeowner and you're planting a tree in your yard that you plan to watch your grandchildren play on, going with something that is native to that area is always a good idea.

Doug: Let me put you on the spot then, in your area, talk about some natives that you love when you can find the right spot for them.

Josh: Out here, again, we in this Midwest Iowa, Nebraska area. We can have some pretty harsh winters. I love the Bur Oaks. Again, I think they have the longevity, that the growth. They're just a good all-around tree for this area. Then some of these varieties of red maples are quite brilliant too, to have that fall color. Then just get down to the basics, the locusts. That's where I would go Oak and then red maple. Ginkgo obviously is another one of my all-time favorite trees. Those do pretty well here in this area.

Doug: Which one of those ginkgoes am I not supposed to get? Female or male? I can't ever remember.

Josh: The female one is the one you want to avoid. That's the one that's going to have the fruit that does not have the most pleasant odor to it.

Doug: Beautiful fall color though and tough as nails.

Josh: Oh yes. Again, great tree, and then you only have to rake once because when the fall time comes, they turn gold for two days and then they all drop the next day. Nice when it comes to raking the leaves.

Doug: Well, tell me a little bit about how you got into this. Why was this job right for you?

Josh: Honestly, it was just something I fell into. Got a job with a little tree company out of high school just a summer thing. I was a PhD tech. I did that for two or three summers and then Davy actually acquired them. Davy wanted to bring me on. I was still a young kid and then I just ran with it at that point. I've been with Davy now 16 years, just learned and grew, and just fell in love with it as the years went on.

Doug: I hear a lot of arborists tell me how much they love working outside, but what about working outside in the winter?

Josh: Again, I grew up in Colorado. I don't mind a little bit of the cold but this Midwest cold is a little different sometimes. Just that little bit of humidity and stuff, it gets cold. Not the best in the wintertime by any means, but if you don't like being outside and can't handle a little hot little cold, obviously, this isn't the job for you. That is one of the things that I absolutely loved when I first got into this, was being outside all the time. Winter months, not as much but still, I'd much rather do that than sit behind a screen all day.

Doug: Well, tell me a little bit about when you are out there and these relationships that you build with your clients. I always like to talk to arborists about this; a tree doctor and we care so much about our trees on our property, most people anyway. Tell me about the feeling of being able to go there and scientifically diagnose the issue, and in hopefully many cases, make a fix.

Josh: Certainly, Doug. That is probably one of the most beneficial things about this, is going and being able to save a tree. You are right when you call us tree doctors, that is what we are. You got a sick tree, a tree that's going to die if nothing gets done to it. We're able to come out and do the right treatments, and the right fertilizing maybe a little trimming, get the bugs killed, whatever it is, and 2, 3, 4 years down the road, that tree is flourishing. That's just a great feeling to have.

Then on the client aspect of things, that is someone that, hopefully, we can take care of that tree for the next 20, 30, 40 years of its lifespan. Get to watch it grow. Like I said, I've been doing this 16 years. I've bounced around to some different offices in that time, but being able to see a tree grow over time is pretty, pretty neat. They're all, for lack of a better term, little children that you get to watch grow up over time.

Doug: Well, I'm going to leave it right there, Josh. That is good stuff. I love that. I appreciate all your time and great information about snow, ice, and some cool native trees too. Thanks again for coming on the podcast.

Josh: Absolutely, Doug. Appreciate you having me on.

Doug: Tune in every Thursday to The Talking Trees podcast from the Davey Tree Expert Company I am your host, Doug Oster. Next week, a fascinating topic with arborist, Dan Blazer, The difficult dance of intervening with nature. I'm really looking forward to that. I hope you'll join me. Do me a favor, subscribe to the podcast so you'll never miss an episode.

If you've got an idea for the show, some feedback, or what's your favorite tree, let me know by sending an email to podcasts@davey.com. That's P-O-D-C-A-S-T-S@D-A-V-E-Y.com. As always, we like to remind you on The Talking Trees Podcast, trees are the answer.

[00:19:39] [END OF AUDIO]