November 17, 2025

If you want your landscape to thrive from year to year, you need to take the proper steps in the fall to protect your trees and shrubs from winter damage. Although many plants in this region are hardy enough to survive the changing weather, there is still a risk of damage if you haven’t prepared. To ensure a great start next spring, take the time in the fall to prepare your landscape for the harsh weather ahead.

Closeup of a landscaper's gloved hands pruning trees in the fall.

Protect Your Trees and Shrubs From Winter Damage

If you’ve landscaped well, your property and plantings can handle the seasonal change in your region. Native plants will naturally die back in the winter but come back thriving in the spring. However, that doesn’t mean that there are no risks to your landscape.

  • Snow and Ice: Heavy snow and ice can cause physical damage to plants and structures due to excess weight.
  • Sunscald: Sunscald occurs when the sun heats the bark of trees during the day, causing it to crack when nighttime temperatures drop.
  • Winter Burn: Winter burn affects evergreen plants when they lose moisture through their leaves faster than they can replace it from frozen ground.
  • Hungry Wildlife: Animals like deer and rabbits may feed on plants and bark during winter when food is scarce, damaging the plants and putting new growth at risk.
  • De-icing Products: Chemicals used to melt ice can damage plants and soil.

Without the right protection, all of these can cause significant damage to your plants, some of which you may not notice until it’s too late. By doing the proper preparation in the fall, many of these issues can be avoided.

Prepare Your Landscape in Fall to Withstand Winter

A lot of fall clean-up landscaping is about actual clean-up, as fall can make quite a mess of a well-maintained property. Pruning dead branches, removing this season’s annuals, raking fallen leaves, and clearing scattered debris are the big tasks that are always part of fall. While a clean lawn and clear beds promote a healthier landscape, a significant portion of fall clean-up is also about enhancing the aesthetics of removing clutter. However, an even more important reason to schedule a fall clean-up is to prepare your landscape for winter. Protecting your landscaping from the damage winter can bring doesn’t happen once that weather has started. Several tasks will protect your landscaping from damage, including aerating and fertilizing your lawn after the last mow, giving your plants a deep watering before the ground freezes to help them withstand the dry winter months, wrapping young or vulnerable trees to prevent sunscald and damage from critters, and mulching around trees, shrubs, and other plants to help insulate the roots will all make sure that your landscape is ready to come back healthy in the spring.

Dormant Pruning Promotes Healthier Spring Growth

Dormant pruning, which is waiting to prune until plants are in their dormant season, usually in late fall, has several benefits. First, dormant pruning is generally easier. Without active growth, it is much easier to see the whole shape and structure of the plant, which makes it much easier to know where to cut. When you can shape the shrub precisely, you will see the results when the new growth begins in spring. However, there are other benefits as well. Removing dead or weak branches allows plants to focus all their stored energy on the healthy parts, which encourages better growth in the spring. Air will be freer to circulate, which will reduce the risk of fungal disease.

Fall Mulching Keeps Roots Healthy and Insulated

We often think of mulching as a spring activity that helps prevent weeds, maintain a good moisture level, and give beds a clean and polished look, but there are many benefits to mulching in the fall as well. Insulating mulch can protect vulnerable root systems from damage. Once the ground is frozen, adding a few inches of insulating mulch can go a long way toward keeping your roots healthy and protected.

Maintain a Healthy Landscape Year-Round With Professional Care

You can buy a bag of mulch and handle a last watering session. You can rake your lawn and your beds as the leaves fall. So why opt for professional care?

Using a professional landscape maintenance partner is about more than just outsourcing a time-consuming chore. Professional landscape maintenance providers have the experience to assess your entire landscape, identify potential issues, and create a plan tailored to your unique landscaping needs, ensuring that you and your property are prepared for the winter. Additionally, professionals have the necessary equipment and tools to make sure every job is completed efficiently and accurately, with no risk of damage.

A landscape maintenance plan is more than mowing throughout the growing season and raking in the fall. A professional landscape maintenance provider makes sure your entire landscape is healthy throughout the entire year. From regular maintenance to fall clean up, to winter preparation, you can trust that every job will be completed in a way to keep your lawn and garden thriving. Many landscape maintenance providers can also handle snow removal to make sure it’s done safely, protecting your plants and clearing your driveway.

Make sure your trees, shrubs, and entire landscape survive winter safely by partnering with Twin Oaks Landscape. Our professional team provides experienced fall preparation, mulching, pruning, and winterization services so your outdoor spaces stay healthy, protected, and ready to thrive come spring. Contact us today to learn more.