Broken tree branches in winter probably nothing to worry about
Q: I moved into my house last summer and all the trees in the yard looked fine. Now, in the middle of the winter, I am finding broken branches under the maples. The branches are so dry that when I picked them up, they just broke. My large white pine also has two branches on the ground. They have been ripped off, right at the trunk, but the big spruce right next to it has no damage at all. What is killing the branches and tearing off others? Is this some kind of animal or insect or disease problem?
A: You can exclude your three possibilities. What’s behind door number four is environmental in nature.
If the branches you picked up broke easily, they have been dead a long time. Winter did not kill them.
Even healthy trees have branches that die. They are often shaded out by the rest of the tree. Or they could have been damaged by strong winds during the summer.
The canopy can look good even if there are a few dead branches. With the rest of the foliage, a couple of dead branches are rarely noticed. Dead branches in deciduous trees, especially maples are quite common. Snow, ice and high winds do nature’s version of pruning by knocking out the brittle dead wood.
For evergreens, it’s all is dependent on their shape. As evergreens age, the branches become heavier as they get longer. Pines often retain their horizontal branching. But spruces usually have downward sloping branches. Some, like Norway spruce, have developed this growth pattern from centuries in their land of origin. Sloping branches allow large snow loads to slip off the branches with little or damage.
The horizontal branches of pines cause the heaps of snow to sit there until something gives way. These branches usually tear at the place where the branch and the trunk meet. It does not shear away but tears a rounded hole into the trunk. If the branch does not tear completely free, you will need to use lopping shears or a saw to cut it loose.
As trees get older, some damage is inevitable.
Q: I have a vegetable garden every year. Since the garden is growing vegetables for just two of us, I don’t usually plant entire packages of vegetables. Is there a way that I can harvest in smaller amounts or make the small amount that I grow last longer in the garden?
A: There sure is. One way is to
stagger the planting of seeds so some go in at two- or three-week intervals or whatever spacing works. Just be sure to separate your vegetable choices into warm season and cool season groups.
Cool season vegetables can be planted in the spring and late summer when they will grow best. Warm season vegetables are planted in May and during the heat of summer. When they are planted at the wrong times, they do poorly. Look online to see which group your vegetables are, if you do not know.
If you are growing leafy vegetables like lettuces, kale, collards or Swiss chard, new leaves are produced in the center of the plant. You can harvest just the outside ring of leaves on each plant, leaving the rest of the plant to produce more.
For broccoli, once you harvest the main floret, leave the plant in place. It will produce many side branches that will develop small florets. There’s another harvest or more from the little guys.
Carrots, beets, radishes and other root crops can be picked when they get large enough. There will be plenty of them that are too small and they can wait to get larger. Removing some will give the others room to grow.
Or if you have too much produce, some vegetables can be blanched and frozen for winter enjoyment. It’s much easier than canning.