Hi there everyone! It has been a while since I have posted any questions. I am hoping that some kind person will be able to help me. My boss was a weeping japanese maple tree, relatively young. I was wondering as it is getting to be colder here in Southampton, Long Island, New York whether or not it should be protected during the winter months. But the question is how to do it, so that the snow when it comes won't weigh it down and break off another limb as it did last year. I have a peach sapling at my home and I wrapped it gently with potato sacking and string and it works well. Can I do the same for my bosses tree? thank you again for your attention to this matter in advance. I have always gotten fabulous advice and look forward to getting more. Sincerely, Sarah Halsey
Here in Illinois I wrap any maple that is small enough to wrap. I do this as protection against the deer as much as the winter and -20 degree temps. If they are difficult to wrap because of their shape, I wrap them with string first, then floating row cover because it is lightweight and won't get soggy and heavy like burlap products. Next, I make sure that there is no "pouch" or indentation of any kind at the top to collect snow. If there is no way to avoid this, like with a weeping tree that has multiple shoots at the top, I would put a sturdy stake in the ground next to the tree and tie it securely to the stake in several places. Then at least if you do get snow accumulating on it, it won't bend over to the ground and break or anything. My yard looks so stupid in winter; it looks like the "walking dead" with all of the trees wrapped up. Hope this helps.
I was just reading that in Japanese Gardens, they build snow huts around sensitive plants using bamboo built into a teepee over the plant. The Bamboo can be wrapped with burlap or screen to catch the snow. There are great photos of this in the book Niwaki: Pruning, Training and Shaping Trees the Japanese Way
