Q: My landscape looked terrible this summer. It is only a year old, and many of the larger shrubs and evergreens don’t have big root systems yet. There isn’t a lot of topsoil, and the plants dried out too often over the summer. Even with some fall rain, I worry about them over the winter. After the first week of cold weather, I noticed that some of the evergreens were starting to turn brown. Is there anything that can be done to help them now? Can I cover them?
A: It will help your plants to go into winter with plenty of water in the stems and roots, plus extra water in the soil. Winter winds and dry air will take water out of the plants, so the more they have available, the better. Before the ground freezes, give each of the flower beds and all of the trees and shrubs a good, long soaking. Use a shovel to check how deep the water has moved into the soil. It is often surprising to see that water hasn’t moved as deep as you think it would have.
