Winter Landscaping Tips

Who says your yard has to be blah in the wintertime? Katy winters often bring chilly nights and sunny days, with a bigger cold spell every once in a while to prove it is winter. This weather combination provides Katy with a perfect time of year for some important landscaping activities. Nearly all trees and shrubs planted during the winter establish themselves sooner than those planted during the spring and summer. Also, plants and flowers provide a splash of color for a vibrant winter landscape.

If you’re looking for some suggestions for cool season color, here are some great plants to consider:

• Pansies – popular, jewel-toned flowers that thrive in cold weather and bloom all winter.  Pansies don’t like heat so wait until evening temperatures get under 70 degrees to plant.
• Violas – similar to pansies in their hardiness, violas usually bloom in yellow, purple, and white. They make nice borders and potting plants.
• Dianthus – grow well in the Katy area and require plenty of sun. Bloom in many shades of pink during the winter months, as well as white, purple and red. Dianthus produce a spicy scent and last well into Spring.
• Calendula – a hardy yellow flower that can tolerate short spells of temperatures below freezing, and may even recover after a severe frost.
• Alyssum – a great cool weather ground cover that forms a fragrant border in sun or partial shade. Blooms in white, rose, or lavender.
• Cyclamen – bright green foliage with blossoms of white, red, pink, or purple. These can bloom as late as April. A light covering with a towel is usually enough to protect these flowers from frost on cold nights, but cyclamen give such great color that they’re worth taking winter precautions.
• Ornamental kale – brilliant leaves in colors like red, pink, lavender, blue, white, and violet. Excellent color plants for beds and containers.

In addition to brightening up your landscaping by using color, there are some other beneficial winter tasks. It’s a good time to prune woody trees, fruit trees, and shrubs. Prune crape myrtles to remove dead or weak branches and suckers. Cut back ornamental grasses to encourage new, unhampered growth in the Spring. Consider aerating your lawn and fertilizing winter-flowering plants, as well as trees and shrubs that are over a year old. Remember to water thoroughly before a freeze is expected. Protect your plants by covering them with a blanket or sheet, and then a layer of plastic. Remove the plastic when the weather warms because heat buildup can damage the plants. Finally, add new mulch to your garden to protect plants during freezing temperatures, plus discourage weed growth and conserve moisture in your soil.

Call C4 Landscape & Design to perform your winter landscaping services, as well as plant beautiful flowers to brighten your yard during the typically drab winter months.

Contact C4 Landscape & Design today for all your landscaping needs.