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How You Can Tell Winter Ruined Your Landscape

How You Can Tell Winter Ruined Your Landscape

If you are unsure what the effects of the weather were on your landscape, then here are some ways to assess the damage.

In a few weeks, spring will start for real. Even though winter might seem like it’s over, it hasn’t totally gone away yet. If you are unsure what the effects of the weather were on your landscape, then here are some ways to assess the damage.

Cold Burn

Since the winter is a time when most of your landscape features will be dead, it can be hard to identify signs of cold burn. Cold burn is also known as winter burn or sunscald. The leaves and stems might be an unusual brown color, which is the main indicator of this condition. Any evergreens on your property will turn a color you may not recognize – golden brown. While this is a fantastic color for certain desserts, it’s not such a good one for your landscape elements. Think of sunscald as a sunburn, but instead of your skin, it’s the bark on your trees that suffer.


Throughout the winter, your hardscapes were treated with salt. This salt served to help deal with the presence of ice and snow. The problem is that, much like how salt can dry your body out, it can do the same to the plants on your landscape. Instead of just looking brown and bare, your plants – such as trees and shrubs – will look as if they have been set on fire.

Wild Animal Disturbance

Wild animals might also stop to nibble on your landscaping features. After all, in the winter, any potential food is hard to come by, so the twigs, bark, and anything left on the branches is fair game.

Roots are Damaged

One final sign that winter ruined to your landscape is damage to your roots. Temperatures below freezing at unpleasant for people, but are destructive for plant life. Anything below 15 degrees Fahrenheit and your plants can die. If their roots freeze over, then they won’t be able to sustain themselves once the spring thaw comes along.

Contact Atlantic Maintenance Group for Your Next Landscaping Project!




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Atlantic Maintenance Group
101 Holsum Way Suite E Glen Burnie, Maryland 21060
Phone: (410) 768-4720 URL of Map