Mulch the base of your new trees, shrubs, and perennials in the late fall for added protection against the deep frosts of winter. This will not only insulate the plants' root systems, but also add nutrients to the soil as it decomposes over time.

TRANSCRIPT

Okay, so we're in the late fall now, and I want to start mulching all of the things that I planted this last year. We normally associate mulching in the spring, but it's really important to do in the fall as well. And that's because we need to give the root system a little bit of added protection, so that it can grow during the winter months.

Now snow actually isn't the enemy of plants. Snow acts as a great insulator. But the past couple winters, even though we're in Buffalo, once we get past Christmas, there hasn't been a ton of snow cover. And what's really dangerous for root systems, including trees, shrubs, but especially your new perennials, is if we get those really windy, super cold, single digit days, uh, there's a lot higher likelihood of perennial die off, you know, the root systems freeze.

This is mostly important during that first season after it's established. So, I've got my redbud here, I've got some hydrangeas in the back that I relocated, and I'm going to use just regular hardwood, non dyed mulch. I'm going to do three to four inches, just because who knows what winter will be like. I think more is always better in this circumstance, just around the base of the tree to give it some extra protection.

Okay, when you're mulching trees, it's important to keep mulch off the trunk of the tree. Having mulch right up against the trunk is going to introduce moisture, so I'm going to mulch the base of the root, but then I'm leaving about a two inch gap away from the trunk of the tree, um, to keep the moisture in the mulch off the base.