Cold weather doesn’t mean an end to outdoor work. You can still trim trees and shrubs, work on cleaning up flower beds, and cut firewood. Here are five tips for what to do while working around your yard this winter.
1) Trim Dormant Shrubs and Trees
Winter is the perfect time to trim most trees and shrubs. Just don’t prune spring-flowering shrubs or trees. Most of them flower on old wood, so it’s best to trim them after they’re done flowering. Also, if you want to avoid gumming up your pruning tools, wait until summer to prune sap-producing trees like birch, maple, and walnut.
In areas with mild winters, you can trim any time the plant is dormant. If you’re expecting harsher winter weather, wait to prune until late winter right before the buds break in the spring. When pruning, focus on removing weak, twiggy, and dead branches and shaping young plants.
2) Define Flower Beds
You can start working to clean up and mulch flower beds at the beginning of winter or wait until late winter/early spring. Winter provides a chance to work in the flower beds without so many plants in the way. It’s a good time to remove old growth, add mulch, and edge the garden.
Start by cleaning out old leaves, taking care not to disturb the roots of perennial plants. Next, use an edger to clean up around the garden bed. You can then mulch planting beds to a depth of 1-1/2 to 2 inches. Just make sure not to mulch right up against the trunks of trees and bases of shrubs – they need a little breathing room.
3) Store Equipment Properly
If you won’t be using your lawn equipment over winter, take the time to clean and winterize it for storage. Remove dirt, dead grass, and other debris. Add a fuel stabilizer or drain the fuel tank. Clean and/or replace filters and sharpen blades.
Store the equipment in a dry place. If you put a cover over it, don’t use plastic. Plastic sheets and tarps can trap moisture and cause rust. In the spring, all you’ll have to do is get the equipment out, refuel it, and you should be ready to go. If you have any troubles, you can bring it into our service department for a tune-up or repairs.
4) Take Care With Chainsaws
Winter wood cutting calls for some additional considerations than cutting during warmer months. You’ll need to take extra care with safety because snow and ice make things slippery. Take time to clean the chainsaw more often than usual so ice doesn’t build up around the throttle trigger, cooling air intake, sprocket cover, and chain brake
Frozen wood is harder than unfrozen wood. To compensate, experts at Stihl suggest decreasing the saw chain’s filing angle by five degrees. This improves cutting performance in frozen wood and helps reduce wear on your guide bar and chain.
5) Wear Winter Clothing
If you’re trimming trees or working in flower beds, you can wear pretty much anything you’re comfortable in. But when you’re working with power equipment in the winter it’s important to take a few extra precautions. Don’t wear loose clothing, like unsecured scarfs, that could get caught in moving equipment. Also, remember to wear safety gear when cutting wood. Frozen wood is more likely to splinter, so it’s extra important that you wear head, face and eye protection.
If you have any questions or need to pick up some new yard care equipment, come visit us at Richardson Saw & Lawnmower this winter. Our friendly power equipment experts will help you figure out the best tools get the job done right.
