Kansas City Landscaping and Lawn Care Ideas

Kansas City gardeners can breathe a sigh of relief that we did not reach the forecasted lows last of week of -20. For many years, we have been lulled into thinking that we may have shifted into zone 6. However, it only takes one very cold night to ensure that we are truly a zone 5 area. The plant hardiness zones are based on the average lowest temperatures for a 10 year period. We are about to reset those zone maps if we approach -20 degrees. Plants are rated to their zones based on laboratory tests as well as the experiences of growers in the fields. Plants rated as hardy to Zone 5 generally survive low temperatures of -10 to -20 degrees. Zone 6 plants are only expected to survive to -10 degrees.

Of course, zones are only part of the answer to how your plants will during this cold snap. Zones define large areas, but not small microclimates that exist around your home. If your plants lie in a low lying area or out on a windswept plain, they are going to have considerably more exposure to cold temperatures than if they are nestled in a protected courtyard, along a south facing wall or on the wayward side of a hill.

That being said, many plants in Kansas City are going to suffer from this cold. Dan Simmons of Show-Me Horticulture and I were talking about what effect this could have on plants. We both agreed that a few of the standouts are plants that have started being popular at retail nurseries lately despite being unproven (or proven poorly) to thrive with very cold winters such as this years. A few plants that are going to be strongly affected are southern Magnolias such as Bracken Brown Beautys, crape myrtles, azaleas, rhododendrons and other broadleaf evergreens. These are all plants better suited to Zone 6. They may have done quite well in Kansas City the last several years, but will be well-tested this winter to see if they have enough protection to survive the extremes.

Even a few proven plants will still be stressed. Boxwoods, yews, and many broadleaf evergreens will likely show some damage come next spring from the prolonged cold weather combined with dry winds that we have experienced over the last several weeks. Another group of plants that will very likely show some signs of stress will be some of the ornamental grasses such as the ornamental fescues, the Japanese Silver grasses and the fountain grasses. Some of the larger trees such as Zelkova, Golden Rain Tree, dogwoods and redbuds could suffer some superficial damage to outermost branches as well.

Unfortunately, there is not much you can do to protect your plants now. If your plants went into the winter relatively healthy and unstressed they will have a much better chance of survival than if they were stressed already. Newly planted plants will have a harder time than older, more established plants. The snow that is insulating the ground is the biggest protection we have right now and this can be bolstered if you are inclined to pile snow around the crowns of your most valuable plants. Another option that can be helpful is to build a windscreen around broadleaf evergreens to help protect them. Lastly, to help plants bounce back as much as possible, give them a good slow soaking of water as soon as the ground thaws and repeat at least monthly throughout the winter. This will help immensely as your plants begin to heal their wounds.

This spring will be quite revealing as we learn a lesson of what plants truly are able to survive Kansas City’s coldest temperatures. We will be better gardeners if we observe and learn from what nature teaches this week and choose plants that will thrive in Kansas City even during when it is at its coldest.

If you have any questions, please feel free to visit me at www.HamonsLandscaping.com or posting questions as a comment to this blog post. I enjoy talking to other plant lovers and answering any questions you might have.

Kansas City has had a record snow storm this week. Gary Lezak reports that most areas received between 10 and 14 inches in Kansas City. Although snow can be a hassle for traveling and moving around in, it is GREAT for plants.

Not only does the snow insulate the plants crowns from widely swinging temperature extremes, it also will add important winter moisture applied slowly and evenly.

You can even help your plants out with extra moisture by choosing where you toss the snow when shoveling your walks and driveways. By piling it on flower gardens and around trees you will be giving them extra moisture. However, if you used any kind of deicer or snow melting product, be very careful as concentrating these in one area could be harmful. Here is a great article on using deicers around your plants.

About the only time snow can be damaging is if it stays around for weeks and weeks without melting it can cause some disease issues. However, in Kansas City we rarely see snow stick around for longer than a week before it melts away.

So enjoy the snow and rest well knowing that your plants are well taken care of while you enjoy them from the outside.

Will it snow?  I’ll leave that up to the experts at NBC Action News.

However, if it does snow, here is what you need to know for your plants.

Most will be ok.  We have had a very seasonable march so the plants that are in bud and coming out of dormancy will be able to handle the cold.  As long as the cold stays above 25 or so.

I do see an exception to some of the fruit trees in the area.  i have noticed that some of them were beginning to bloom.  These trees will likely lose some of their blooms.

I would wait to cover any plants until after it snows.  The wight of the snow ontop of the covers will likely cause more damage than the temperatures.

Also, there is a risk if we have substantial snow that trees with leafed out branches or trees with blooms could catch enough snow to hurt cause their limbs to break.  This could true for evergreens as well.

Let it Snow – Let it Snow – Let it Snow.

Wintery precipitation can be a beautiful thing, as long as you are looking at it from inside. However, with the beautiful snows come the dangers of slippery walks and driveways. Luckily, we have several deicers available that help us keep our walks and drives safer and thanks to new options, products that won’t hurt the important landscape plants around our house.

I am going to start the discussion by removing one option altogether – SALT. Salt belongs in your cupboard and not by your plants. When you put any deicing products on outdoor surface, you are essentially placing them directly on the roots of the plants and lawn that border either side, because runoff will carry the chemicals directly to them. Salt is one of the most efficient killers of your plants – and is not all that effective as a deicer. Its only benefit is its relative cheapness. However, when you factor in the increased amount needed to effectively melt ice compared to better products, the pennies saved do not justify the risk to your landscape. Better options are Potassium , Magnesium or Calcium Chloride. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages.

The biggest difference is the temperature in which they will work effectively. Potassium Chloride will work as long as the temperature is above 15 degrees or so.  Magnesium and Calcium Chloride will work down to about 5 degrees.  Below 5 degrees and no deicing products are helpful, besides, as far I’m concerned, at 5 degrees nobody shouldn’t be walking outside anyway! The first step in getting good results with deicing products is to make sure you are buying what you think you are buying.

For some reason, the packaging on deicing products can be especially confusing – almost to the point of deceptive. Nearly every product sold will be a mixture of different chemicals. You want one with the absolute least amount of rock salt (sodium chloride) you can get. Many of the products that claim to be the newest and best are nothing more than colorfully packaged rock salt. A quality product will have LESS than 10% rock salt. Rock salt is used as a cheap filler. Do not let price be your determiner. Some of the most expensive products have the cheapest products inside them. READ THE LABEL! You should be able to get a good 30 – 50 pound supply for less than $20 and this will last you for the entire season.

Once you have selected a product, you need to make sure you use it effectively. This starts by using less than you might think you should and apply it before you might think you should. Never apply ice melt on top of snow. It is most effective if applied before the precipitation starts. All you need is a little bit to get the melting started and to keep the ice from forming. These products are not designed tomelt away layers of ice that have already formed.

A quick tip from the professionals: these products are more effective in their liquid form. In time, I believe these products will be available as liquids to consumers. However, right now they usually are not. So what I suggest is that you dissolve just enough to be used into either a high quality non-corrosive sprayer or into a plastic watering can. Make the mixture 70% HOT water and 30% deicer. Then carefully apply just enough to wet the surface before precipitation starts falling. This will give you the best protection from the ice, be the easiest to apply evenly, be the least damaging to plants and be the most economical.

Hopefully, this winter you’ll feel confident when you head up to the hardware store that you have the information to buy the best deicer for you and can apply it quickly and easily.  Allowing you to sit inside, enjoying the winter weather as you sip hot chocolate.

Using this warm couple days would be great to add some water to your lawn.But it just rained you say.  YES — but only .5inch or less in most cases.  By watering another 1/2 inch now you will be getting the benefit of 1″ of rain with only 1/2 the water usage.  If you put a half inch down today — You would be set until some warm day in January.  1″ of water is infinitely more helpful to your lawn than a half inch because it feed and encourages deep roots.Also – don’t forget to soak any shrubs or trees planted within the last season or two.  Put a slow drip on them and you’ll be rewarded with better plants.  Its hard to rely on snowfall for winter watering because so much of it runs off the surface.  Use your hose when you can!